When Things Fall Apart
by Phoebe Dillard
Summary: Imogene Adeney's mother used to tell her as she grew up that she was the kind of person who'd walk straight through hell with a smile. At the time, Imogene didn't think having that quality would ever help her as she made her escapade through her teenage years, or throughout her life for that matter. She never could've guessed how wrong she'd be. Carl Grimes/OC
1. How It All Started

Even the most normal of days can end in the most unexpected of ways. That's a lesson Imogene Adeney had to learn the hard way, but for someone as stubborn as she was that wasn't totally surprising.

Imogene's mother used to tell her as she grew up that she was the kind of person who'd walk straight through hell with a smile. At the time, Imogene didn't think having that quality would ever help her as she made her escapade through her teenage years, or throughout her life for that matter. She never could've guessed how wrong she'd be.

The end of the world began on Friday, August 29th, 2014. It was the fifth day of Imogene's freshman year in High School. It started out like any other day, but ended like no other before it.

* * *

 **Imogene Adeney**

If there is one thing that Texans love, its high school football. I never really understood the game itself, but I can't deny that it's entertaining to watch. There's nothing I enjoyed more than watching teenage boys tackle each other to the ground and flip each other over their shoulders, all in the name of a trophy.

Tonight marked the beginning of the 2014 season, and my first football game as a varsity cheerleader at Foster High School

I stood on the track that went along the circumference of the football field with my hands behind my back crossed above my butt. The sweat coming off of my palms made my pom-poms stick to my hands without me having to actually grip the handle between all the shiny fabric. Got to love that Texas weather in August.

I gazed out beyond the top of the press box that sat above the home team's side. The sky had turned into a beautiful ombre of orange and yellow hues, signaling the setting of the sun. It was difficult for me to not admire the beautiful sunset that was appearing in the sky.

My eyes followed a flock of birds as they passed overhead in an oddly large group. That's weird, I thought to myself, birds usually only fly in large groups like that when they are migrating. It's the end of August, so there is no reason they should be fleeing to warmer weather. An odd feeling overcame came me as I watched them fly out into the distance and fade away out of sight. It seemed as if they were flying away from something as opposed to flying towards something.

Before I could continue my inner monologue about bird migrations, a loud cheer erupted out of the crowd, breaking me from my reverie. The band started to play a familiar beat as the announcer from the press box informed us all that the visitor's team had scored a touchdown.

I turned around clapping to the opening beats of the fight song played by the drum line. Months of practice made it possible for me to do the routine to our school's fight song without really thinking about it. As I finished the last motion, the head captain yelled, "One two!" Simultaneously, the whole team and I dropped our pom-poms onto the track.

We all then proceeded to run towards the end zone we scored in to do a ripple of backhandsprings. As we ran, I slowed down until I fell in step with my friend Devyn.

"Remind me again why I keep putting myself through this year after year," she gasped out between breaths.

I let out a chuckle as I stopped running. There was a moment of silence before the backhandspring ripple started and I took that brief moment to catch my breath. When I saw Devyn swing her arms back to start her backhandspring in my peripheral vision I started mine.

As I finished I stood up straight with my hands on my hips and looked to my left towards the end of the line. When the last person finished, we all ran back to our positions in front of the student section on the visitor's side of the field.

Devyn caught up with me and I answered her previous question, even though it was rhetorical. "I have no idea you tell me. I'm only doing cheer because I need a PE credit to graduate."

Don't get me wrong, I liked cheerleading. It was fun and it put my eight years of gymnastics experience to use, however it was exhausting. So far our team had scored 49 points which is great, but it wasn't even halftime yet. We already had to run to and from the end zone 7 times.

"How are you still running at this pace Imogene? I literally feel like I'm about to collapse," Devyn let out between breaths.

I slowed down my pace a little bit replied. "Back in my gymnastics days, we used to do these crazy workout videos for a warmup, then run around the parking lot for half an hour. I found that if I pretended a pack of velociraptors were chasing me that I'd keep my pace up."

She shook her head slightly and rolled her eyes. "I swear every day the stuff you tell me Jean gets crazier and crazier."

"Hey I'm just answering the question don't be hating on me."

"I'm not hating on you per say," Devyn said while making finger quotation mark gestures at the word hate. "I just think that velociraptors are a little unrealistic. Don't you think? Wouldn't it make more sense for the something that's chasing you to be real?"

At this point we had made it back to our positons on the track. I opened my mouth to reply but was interrupted by the head captain saying, "Be back down here five minutes before halftime ends!"

I hadn't been paying much attention to the clock on the scoreboard but sure enough when I glanced up over at it, the timer was set to 25 minutes. Halftime had started. I walked over my duffel bag and grabbed my water bottle and phone.

I then made my way over to the gate that separated the bleachers and concession stands from the field. Devyn met up with me and we then proceeded through the gate to the bleachers to watch the halftime show, muttering a quick thank you to the security guard that unlocked the gate for us.

"Alright Devyn the all-knowing," I spoke dragging out the last syllable in her name. "What do you suppose I do instead?"

She answered me as we wove our way through the crowd. "I don't know just make the scenario more realistic. Have a tiger chase you," she suggested as we walked up the bleachers to the top row. The voices around us were drowned out by the deafening music of the home team's band which was preforming at the moment.

"A tiger. Really. That's the best you could come up with? As if I'm going to be petrified of some cat," I quipped glancing over at Devyn.

She merely scoffed and sat down in an empty spot. I sat down next to her as she replied. "I forgot that you're inhuman Ms. I don't get scared of anything."

"First off I can assure that I am very much human," I jested glancing at Devyn. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask _are you sure about that_? "Secondly, fear echoes your self-defined limitations. I don't know about you Devyn, but fifty years from now, I want children to be reading about me in history textbooks. If I let fear overcome me, I'll never get where I want to go."

Devyn took her eyes off the halftime show and gave me a blank stare. "I'll make sure that the history textbooks say 'Imogene Adeney, at the bright young age of 14, was already showing signs of becoming a smartass'."

I threw my head back laughing and gave Devyn a side hug. She giggled and leaned into me resting her head upon my shoulder. "I don't say this often enough, but I love you Devyn Krieger. I have no idea what I'm going to do when you graduate next year."

She sat up straight and turned her attention back to the halftime show. "You're smart and resourceful Jean. You'll find a way. I know you will." She assured me not even sparing a glance.

I took my eyes off her and watched the band and drill team preform their routine on the field. The formations were intricate and I couldn't help but admire the smooth and fluid like transitions that were made.

When the home team's band hit the final note of their routine, the audience applauded, including Devyn and I. They exited the field in a routine like manner and walked out of sight.

There was a brief moment of tranquility while our teams' band and drill team took the field. It was relatively serene and the radio was playing quietly in the background over the speakers. The whole stadium was illuminated in lights because the sun had long been gone. I felt a slight breeze brush across my face causing my blonde ponytail to blow into Devyn face. She swatted my hair away like it was a fly smiling.

All was well.

But as Robert Frost, a great poet once wrote, nothing gold can stay. And I was about to get a hands on lesson on exactly what he meant.

Though the music from the radio that was playing over the speakers were quiet, everyone in the stadium could hear the sirens of the Emergency Alert System interrupt the current song. The announcer in the press box turned up the volume until it drowned out all outside noise.

"What the hell?" I muttered under my breath as I stood up slowly. I put my phone in the waistband of my spandex that I had on under the skirt of my uniform

Devyn looked up at me then stood up as well. "It's probably just a test," she began. "Probably nothing to worry about," she finished trying to convince herself more than she was me.

I turned my head towards her with a grim smile. "Devyn, you know as well as I do that if were a test, they'd say so before blaring the alarms." The sirens stopped suddenly and there was a moment of complete silence before the automated voice of the system spoke.

It was scary quiet. Never had I been in a place filled with this many people and it be this silent. I think that everyone knew this moment was important and that they would remember it for the rest of their lives, which for all we knew could be very limited from this point.

The silence was interrupted by the robotic voice of the Emergency Alert System. "This is not a test. This is your Emergency Alert System announcing that authorities have issued a Contagious Disease Warning for the United States beginning at 9:17 PM Eastern Time and will be effective until further notice. Authorities have no information on how the disease is spread though they know for a fact that it is fatal upon contraction. We advise that you stay away from densely populated areas and the infected until told otherwise. Stay calm, help is on the way."

I stopped paying attention after that. The alert repeated itself as I grabbed Devyn hand and dragged her down the steps of the bleachers with me, maneuvering my way through the crowds of people who had the same idea.

At this point I knew that the safest place for us to be was away from the crowds but if I ever wanted to get home, I had to find my coach and team. The problem with being 14 is that legally, you're completely dependent on adults

It took a good two minutes for us to make the trek to the lowest level of the bleachers. When Devyn and I finally got there, we were pressed against the railing by the hordes of people pushing past us.

I scanned the field and saw that there were a scanty amount of people on it. There were band members from our school who never got to preform rushing off of the field, their instruments in tow, and drill team members following close behind. I let out a huff, even when they're running from their impending doom, drill team still managed to be graceful.

"There's no way that we'll be able to go through the gate we came in through," Devyn acknowledged as she leaned forward over the railing. I followed her gaze. She was right.

From our vantage point, I could see a huge crowd of drill team and band members crowded around the gate in a group, all trying to push through at once. It would take way too much time to get through the crowd and then, even with my stubbornness and unshakeable willpower, there was no way Devyn and I could push through the group of teenagers surrounding the gate.

"Screw that," I mused looking over the railing. "How far do you think it is from here to the ground?"

Devyn thought for a moment. "About 8 feet. Why?" she replied turning towards me a perplexed expression. I merely smirked at her whilst wiggling my eyebrows. She rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation. "You can't be serious."

"Oh but Devyn my dear I most certainly am," I all but sang whilst walking backwards. "Sometimes I think you underestimate my abilities."

"Imogene Adeney now is not the time to be cracking jokes, nor is it the time to act all dramatic and ostentatious! If you jump over that railing and break your leg, how the hell are we supposed to get out of here?" Devyn exclaimed with a wild look in her eyes.

I stopped backing up once I was about 10 steps up. Running from here would give me enough momentum to hopefully bypass the concrete that was directly below the railing and land on the still hard but slightly more shock absorbent track.

"Okay really? Ostentatious?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

She shrugged sheepishly. "It was one of my SAT vocab words."

 _And I'm the dramatic one_ , I thought to myself. "Anyways," I continued. "You can relax Devyn I'm not going to jump over the railing."

She sighed in relief. "Really! Thank god," Devyn gasped out.

"I'm going to vault over the railing like Makayla Maroney at the 2012 London Olympics," I finished smiling. "And before you start to yell at me again about how I might break my leg, you're forgetting once again that I was a gymnast for eight years," I reminded her cracking my knuckles.

"Once I get down there, I'm going to need you to go up to the top of the bleachers and wait for me. Okay? I'm going to talk to coach and see what she wants us to do. I'll be back in a few minutes," I explained to Devyn. "You got that?" I asked. She nodded in response. "Good," I said sharply.

The stairs going up and down the bleachers were deserted but the aisle way where Devyn was standing was anything but. People were still rushing around trying to leave and I needed a clear shot if I were ever going to pull this off.

I took my eyes off Devyn and focused on the cylindrical bar that made up the railing. I had one shot at grabbing this metal bar that was maybe 4 inches in circumference. I put my right foot back and bent my knees slightly, leaning my chest forward.

Devyn must've noticed my expression because she yelled to everyone around us. "Everyone move out the way!"

I took that as my cue.

"Just like gymnastics," I muttered to myself as I took off in a sprint. My arms pumped back and forth at my side until I was a good 10 feet from the railing. I raised my arms above my head as my knee lifted up in a hurtle position, both feet off the ground. With all of that momentum, I dropped my arms back to by side and swung them backwards while bringing my feet together in a squat when I touched back down on the ground.

In my peripheral vision I could tell that Devyn was successful in getting people to clear a path for me. I'd have to thank her later.

I then jumped back up into the air reaching towards the bar. My arms were by my ears and I watched as the railing got closer and closer to my hands.

My fingers spread out as I latched on to the bar. I wrapped my thumb around it and bent my elbows just enough to help me pop off. I straightened my arms quickly and released the bar when I could feel my body go past vertical.

I brought my chin to my chest and watched as the ground got closer and closer. My arms went straight out from my sides to help me balance in the air. I kept my legs slightly in front of me and bent my knees to prepare for impact.

The second my feet grazed the track I tucked my head and arms into my chest quickly and rolled back onto my feet standing up.

I turned around and waved at Devyn while giving her a wink. She smiled at me and started laughing. She then turned around and started walking up the bleachers, following my instructions. Everyone else who was trying to exit the stadium in a rush went on with their business as if they didn't just see a 14 year old blonde chick vault over a metal bar.

"Now that that's done with, where is Coach Wilson," I murmured to myself as I looked around the sidelines. She had to be here somewhere.

That's when I saw one of my teammates crouched down by her duffel bag. She seemed to be packing her stuff up so it was obvious that she was about to leave.

I started jogging in her direction as I called out her name. "Margo!"

She turned towards me and smiled grimly then went back to packing. I got over to her and watched her shove everything in her bag quickly.

"Are you leaving?" I asked her.

She stood up and put her duffel bag around her neck before replying. "Yea, Coach Wilson says that if our parents are here we can leave with them. Thank god my mom came. I'd hate to be stuck on a bus for 3 hours driving back to Houston in what you know is going to be crazy traffic."

Until this point I had totally forgotten that we had driven 3 hours away from my home town, which is right outside of Houston, to play this team. This just raised another question. How the hell was I supposed to get back home? I know Devyn's parents didn't come and I know that neither of mine came because they both work. Also, I really don't think that our bus driver stuck around in all this mess, and I really can't blame him because to be honest I wouldn't have either.

"I gotta go Imogene, my mom's going to be looking for me," Margo broke the silence between us.

"Wait! Can I ask you something real quick? Do you know where Coach Wilson is?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest.

Margo looked around and pointed to the Field House which held the lockers rooms. "Last I saw she was over there. She said she saw someone wondering around there as if they were lost. Wanted to help she said."

I nodded in response. "Thank you Margo. Good luck to you and your family," I spoke gently giving her a smile.

"You too Jean," she answered returning my smile. "Hopefully I'll see you at school next week," Margo added as she walked away. I didn't know it yet, but that was the last time I'd ever see her.

I looked around and saw that the stadium was mostly deserted. A few stragglers were walking around and Devyn was still sitting in the bleachers. We made eye contact and I held up five fingers, signaling that I'd be back in about five minutes. She nodded and went back to her phone.

I could hear yelling and the honking of car horns coming from the parking lot. Even if I somehow found a ride at this very moment, I'd be stuck in that parking lot for who knows how long so I didn't worry about that.

Now for the task at hand. Finding Coach Wilson.

I started towards the Field House at a fast pace. It wasn't very well lit at this part of the football field and to be completely honest, I wanted to get out of this area as soon as possible. It was creepy to say the least

Thankfully, it was fairly easy for me to walk around the building because the gate in front of it was unlocked. When I came to the conclusion that she wasn't outside, I figured that Coach Wilson went inside the Field House so I walked back to the front.

I reached for the doorknob and jiggled it. Locked. I was about to give up when I realized that I was still wearing my cheerleading uniform. That meant that I had a bow bobby pinned to my head. And you know what bobby pins are good for? Picking locks.

My hands went up and reached my bow. I pulled a bobby pin out of my hair and jammed my finger up the center to separate the teeth a little bit. I then kneeled on the ground and went to work.

I put the bobby pin in the door knob where the key should go and wiggled it around a bit until I heard a click. I grabbed the door knob and twisted slowly. Miraculously, the door opened.

"Hell yea," I whispered to myself as I walked in. I shut the door and paused, listening for the sound of footsteps. Nothing.

"Coach Wilson? Anyone?" I called out into empty space. Still nothing. I was having difficulty seeing because only the emergency lights were on so I grabbed my phone out of my spandex and put on the flash, using it as a light.

Carefully, I navigated my way through the maze of hallways until I found a door labeled _Coaches Office_. I figured that if there's any place she'd be, that it would be in here, so I ventured on.

The door was unlocked so I was able to enter swiftly. I left the door open behind me to let in some light from the hallway. I held my phone up and searched around the room. Nothing.

"Where the hell could she be?" I muttered frustrated. Just as I spoke, I heard a noise from the hallway. Not really thinking, I walked back out of the office talking. "Coach Wilson! Thank god I've been looking all over for you. Listen Devyn and I need to-"I stopped mid-sentence when my gaze fell upon what looked like to be the offensive coach of our football team.

From where I was standing, he looked very much dead. His eyes were cloudy and his skin had a turned a sickly shade of gray. The only problem was, if he was dead, why was he walking towards me?

"Coach! Snap out of it!" I screeched backing up. His head rolled to the side and he kept his gaze on me. He dragged his feet as he moved closer and closer to me, groaning.

My back hit something which caused me to stop backing up. I reached my hand behind and felt around for something, anything. I felt something that seemed to be door knob so I twisted it and pushed against the surface I was backed into.

There was a slight sense of relief when I realized that it was door, but that feeling quickly dissipated when I saw that the coach, or whatever it was, was still advancing. I lifted my phone back up and aimed the light around the room. I saw sinks, toilets, and shower heads. I was in the locker room.

"Ugh gross," I grumbled under my breath, but the bacteria infested locker room was the least of my problems. I needed to kill this thing but I had nothing but my phone and a ruined bobby pin with me.

I shook out my nerves and took on a determined expression. "Alright buddy, listen, my momma didn't raise no bitch so you better enjoy your last few moments roaming this Earth." He merely groaned in response.

Walking to my right, I made my way towards the row of sinks and mirrors. The sinks went up to my belly button and were stark white, obviously cleaned recently. I stood in between two sinks and held out my hand, snapping my fingers to keep the attention of the infected thing in front of me.

"That's right keep it coming," I whispered as it approached me.

The coach was only about 4 inches taller than which saved me a lot of trouble. If this had been one of 6'4 football players I have no clue what I would've done. The coach raised his hands towards me and I waited until he was just about to touch me to give him a slight kick in the stomach.

He bent over out of reflex which gave me a good opening to grab his neck. I grabbed his neck with one hand and tightened my grip, my other hand gripped the sink helping me keep my balance. I turned parallel to the sink and started bringing the coached head down again and again on the white porcelain.

Blood went everywhere. It covered the mirrors, the sinks nearby, and me. I closed my eyes to keep the blood out of them as I bashed the coaches' head in. After I thought I had done a sufficient job, I stopped. I slowly opened my eyes and took in the scene around me.

I loosened my grip on the coach's' neck and watched as he slumped to the floor motionless. I stepped out from between the sinks and backed away from his body. I took a hesitant glance in one of the clean mirrors and raised an eyebrow at my reflection.

"I wonder if this is what Bloody Mary looks like when summoned," I wondered out loud.

My white cheer uniform was covered in blood, as was my face. My blonde hair thankfully, was in a ponytail so most of it was relatively clean, but the white bow on top of my head looked more red than white.

I walked over to one of the clean sinks and washed my hands off. I splashed some water on my face and watched as the tinted red water ran down the drain. Turning off the water, I grabbed some paper towels and dried my hands.

One things still bothered me though. Where the hell was Coach Wilson? My question was soon thereafter answered when I heard groaning in the hallway.

I went still. "You can't be serious," I whispered. I walked over to the door that lead out of the locker room and peaked around it. Sure enough, I found Coach Wilson, only like the offensive coach, she was dead and walking.

Sighing I walked out of the locker room, leaving the door open, and pressed myself against the wall. "I'm sorry that this happened to you," I spoke to her barely above a whisper.

I kicked her in the stomach and grabbed her neck the same way I did the offensive football coach, only this time I didn't go and bash her head in against a sink. I held Coach Wilson's neck with both hands and maneuvered my way around her until I stood directly behind her. I then walked us both forward until we were directly in front of the locker room.

"It was nice knowing you," I proclaimed grimly. I let go of her neck and shoved Coach Wilson as hard as I could into the Locker Room. She groaned and stumbled onto the floor collapsing on her uncoordinated feet. I took one last look and shut the door. She was someone else's problem now.

I excited the Field House quickly, listening and looking for any more of the infected. Thankfully I didn't come across any.

As I walked back my eyes went over to the bleachers. Devyn was there along with two other girls who I recognized as cheerleaders on our team as well. I assumed that they were like Devyn and I, stuck without a ride home.

They were all sitting on the top row of the bleachers, talking and laughing amongst themselves. They were all so engrossed in the conversation that they didn't notice me until Devyn started freaking out.

Devyn stopped talking mid-sentence when her gaze fell upon me. She screeched loudly and stood up covering her mouth with her hand in shock. "Jean what the hell! Are you okay? What the fuck happened to you?" She fretted quite loudly. I knew she was concerned because Devyn being the precious little flower she was, never swore.

I looked at her with an expression blank of emotion. "It's not my blood," I stated curtly. The two girls with Devyn never took their eyes off of me. I made eye contact with both of them before asking Devyn. "Are they stuck here too?"

Devyn nodded her head yes before repeating her earlier question. "Jean, what happened?"

I walked up the steps until I was on the same level as her and the other two girls. I turned towards the railing at the top of the bleachers and looked out into the distance. I could hear faint screaming and the occasional gunshot. Where I would usually see the headlights of cars entering the city, I saw darkness. Meanwhile, the opposite side of the interstate was lit up like a Christmas tree, only all the light were red. Brake lights.

"Life as we know it is gone Devyn," I said breaking the silence, not even sparing her a glance.

She walked up beside me and followed my gaze. Her wavy brown hair blew in the breeze as she reached a hand up to push it out of her face. "That bad huh?" I nodded my head yes silently.

"Are we gonna get back to Houston tonight?" One of the girls behind us asked.

"No," I answered.

"How about tomorrow?"

I let out a dry laugh. "Probably not." They both stayed quiet after that.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence. Devyn looked at me. "Alright Imogene, what's the plan? What are we going to do?"

I smiled despite everything and gave her my best answer. "I'll tell you the minute I figure it out myself."

The lights in the stadium decided to shut off at that very moment, leaving only the full August moon to brighten up the sky.


	2. The Way Of The New World

Sometimes it's not the pain that makes you suffer, it's your own negative thoughts that make things seem worse. So Imogene Adeney tried to stay relatively positive because her situation only seemed to be getting worse and worse. And boy, was it getting harder for her to stay positive.

The end of world affects people, understandably. The person you are, and who you need to be to survive are totally different things. Imogene however, was starting to have an identity crisis because as she went along, she realized that who she was, and who she needed to be to survive, were the same person. And that scared her.

* * *

 **Imogene Adeney**

Being a child of the apocalypse, I learned to trust my gut instinct above all else. I learned that it's almost always right and that second guessing yourself has deadly consequences. I learned that the hard way.

It got a lot colder in Georgia then it did in Texas. Winter time was in full swing and I was not adapted to handle temperatures under 60 degrees. Back in Texas, you could wear shorts and a t shirt year round with no problem.

I was walking alone through rural Georgia when I heard the voices of men. I hadn't heard another person speak since Devyn and I got separated about 2 months ago. I didn't plan on speaking with them, but my curiosity got the best of me.

After spending 6 months in the wilderness going from place to place I picked up on a few things. If you want to walk quietly on dead leaves walk heel-toe, heel-toe. When approaching a sound, always make sure you see it or them before it or them sees you. Bobby pins are not only great for taming hair, but also for picking locks. Guns get the job done but are unreliable, having a weapon that doesn't rely on ammo is must.

My weapon of choice oddly enough is a screwdriver. I've been using it since the start of the new world and well, it gets the job done. I also use an American Longbow. It's a type of bow that I picked up with Devyn and my brothers as we traveled east. We passed through a town in Texas called Todd Mission which hosts the Texas Renaissance Festival every year.

When the outbreak started, I guess they were setting up for this year's festival. When we arrived at the lot that they held it, there was a ton of crap leftover. That's where I picked up my bow and a quiver filled with arrows. The rest as they say is history.

I crouched behind a bush and slowly put my backpack down. I reached a hand behind by head to pull an arrow out of my quiver. Silently, I notched the arrow in my bow while keeping my eyes focused on the men.

There were about 6 of them standing in a wide circle around a group of people. I saw a woman and 2 little boys kneeling in the middle, shaking with fear. That's when I saw that 3 of the men were holding guns at them. I tuned in to their conversation.

"You know I can't let this slide honey. Stealing is a crime now I know you know that," one of the men said. He was wearing jeans and a button down shirt. His clothes were clean which was odd, not a speck of dirt on them. These men must be part of some bigger group. They all looked well fed unlike the people they were surrounding.

"Please, let me and my boys go. I'm sorry okay!" The woman weeped. "We haven't eaten in days I just wanted one can of food to hold us over."

The man who was talking earlier lifted up his arm and gestured to the men around him. Only, instead of a hand, there was a bayonet. Now from what I've learned the past minute or two, these men seem to be assholes but even I had to admit that was freaking awesome.

"Our leader has given me and my men strict orders to eliminate any threat there is to our society. Now I'm sorry lady but since you tried stealing from us that makes you a threat," he explained with no remorse. He snapped his fingers on his other hand and the men holding guns clicked off the safety. "This isn't anything personal. I hope you understand that. Take them out guys."

My gut wrenched and I knew what I had to do. Before they opened fire, I quickly walked out from behind the bush and pressed my notched arrow against the man who was ordering the rest of the men around. He visibly stiffened.

"I can't let ya'll do that," I stated steely calm. The other five men turned towards me and aimed their guns at me. They all looked surprised to say the least. "Put the guns down and let them go, or I'll release this arrow straight into this dipshits heart."

They stood still, not moving a muscle. None of them dare speak though I don't know why.

Finally, one of them spoke up. "Merle, what do you want us to do?" he asked. I'm assuming Merle is the man I'm currently holding hostage.

"Nothing. Do absolutely nothing," Merle ordered confirming my suspicions. "Look at this chick. She's totally bluffing. No way will she actually kill me."

I pressed the arrow deeper into his back causing him to groan. Blood started to slowly seep through his shirt. "I think you're underestimating my character," I chided in a confident voice.

I could feel my white blonde ponytail blowing behind me like a flag in the bitter cold wind. Though the sun was beating down on us, it was still rather chilly out. It was dead quiet. The only sounds to be heard were the occasional chirps of a nearby bird and a sniffle from the woman and her children.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the men asked.

I chuckled in disbelief. "Like I'm going to tell you," I replied keeping my attention on Merle. My fingers and arms were getting fatigued from holding the bow taught for so long. Time to speed things up a little. "I'm giving ya'll one last chance. Put the guns down and let those people go. They only wanted one can of food and I can tell from looking at ya'll that you can spare a little."

The air around us was so tense that I could cut it with a butter knife. Merle nodded slightly and the three men with guns put them on the ground. I looked over at the woman and children who were still kneeling in the grass. "Go!" I exclaimed. "What are you waiting for?" The woman nodded frantically and stood up grabbing her son's arms. They ran off stumbling, probably too weak to even run straight.

"Now that that's over," I started stepping backwards away from Merle. "The fun part begins."

I kicked Merle in the back of his knee and shoved him to the ground. I relaxed my arms slightly but kept my arrow notched and pointed at him, only this time it was pointed at his head. Keeping the arrow pointed at his head, I walked a few feet over to where the guns lay on the ground and kicked them away from the men who had backed away I got closer to them.

As I walked back to Merle I stole a quick glance at the 5 men. "I suggest ya'll go back to whatever hell hole you came from. Merle and I here are good."

They looked at Merle skeptically and he nodded. "Just go I'll be fine," he ordered sounding annoyed. I didn't blame him. He did jut have his ass whooped by a 15 year old girl.

The men all proceeded to walk off leaving Merle and I alone. I once again pulled back on the arrow making the string taught and ready to fire. "I'm going to need you to take of your sword arm thing," I announced.

Merle groaned. "Are you serious lady? Why the hell do I need to take it off?"

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me do it. "Well you see the thing is, it has a gigantic knife attached to it. I'm pretty sure even an imbecile like you can figure out why I'd want you take it off. Now come on, go ahead and sit up like a man."

He sat up slowly and started taking of his prosthetic. I continued talking. "I know that we aren't friends and all, but I just wanted to say that you fake hand thing is really cool. Making the best of a bad situation right? I can respect that."

Merle looked up at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Thanks kid I guess," he mumbled.

I laughed slightly and smirked at him as he handed me his fake hand. I put my arrow back in my quiver and slung my bow over my shoulder. "Pleasure doing business with you," I chirped as I grabbed it looked it over. It was definitely something I'd be keeping. I threw it over on the ground where the guns were.

"What now?" he asked.

I looked him over and stared him in the eyes. "Now that you're defenseless I'm going to assume that you're not going to do anything stupid. You may think that you can take me in a fight but I promise you, it'll do you more harm than good. Do you understand that?" I questioned him. Merle nodded in response. "Good," I said in approval. "Walk over to that tree and stand against it. Arms by your side," I demanded pointed at one of the many trees surrounding us.

He trudged over to what I recognized to be a bare pecan tree slowly. As I followed, I grabbed a piece of rope that I kept in a side pocket of my quiver. Merle leaned against the tree, complying with my instructions. I started wrapping the rope around the circumference of the tree, tying Merle to it.

I used a taught line hitch knot to secure him to the tree. He wouldn't be getting out of it anytime soon, at least without the help of another person. I started to walk away when he spoke up.

"Where the hell are you going?" he asked tugging at his restraints.

Without sparing a glance I replied. "To gather up some stuff and hide it away."

I went to the bush I where I was originally hiding and grabbed my backpack. I walked over to where the guns were and crouched down, dropping my bag at my feet. I then proceeded to click the safety on all the guns and put them in my bag as well as Merle prosthetic hand sword. A fun fact about me, Imogene Adeney, is that I'm a terrible shot with a gun. Maybe if I were to practice more I'd improve but there is no need to waste perfectly good ammo.

I was zipping my backpack up when Merle started hollering. "Kid! Hey kid!" he all but screamed.

I whipped my head around to see him thrashing around. "What the hell are you trying to do? Shut the hell up there no need to scream," I said harshly.

Merle merely nodded his head to my left. "Look."

I turned my head saw two of the infected stumbling towards us. I sighed heavily and retrieved an arrow from my quiver along with my bow. I notched my arrow and pulled back, my eyes only focused on my targets. I waited about 5 seconds until they were in line with each other, took a deep breath, and released the arrow.

It soared through the air on a perfectly straight trajectory before lodging itself through both of the infected heads. I slung my bow back over my shoulder and picked up my backpack. "I'll be back in 5 minutes," I started looking at Merle. "Try not to go anywhere," I continued smiling.

"Haha very funny kid," he replied.

I stopped at the now dead walkers that I shot and retrieved my arrow, placing it back in my quiver. I bent and patted my boot quickly to make sure my screwdriver was still there. When I felt a familiar lump, I stood up and proceeded to look for a place to hide my stuff. If shit hit the fan, I didn't want to lose all of my stuff so I find it best to just hide it and come back for it later.

As I was walking, my foot got caught in a hole almost causing me to trip. I kneeled down and examined the burrow. It seemed to be an abandoned Armadillo hole. I saw tons of these back in Texas. It seemed like a good place for my stuff.

I grabbed a nearby stick and started digging the hole out more so my backpack could fit. I then shoved my quiver in first, then my bow, and my backpack. If I needed a weapon I always had my screwdriver. I grabbed some leaves and covered the hole, camouflaging it with its surroundings.

I stood up and looked around processing this area so I could find it again. I reached into my boot and grabbed my screwdriver. I then carved the letters IA into the tree a little ways behind it. That would help some. I put my screwdriver back into my boot and walked back towards Merle.

"You know, you remind me of someone," he admitted as soon as he saw me. "When I saw you shoot those walkers with your arrow, I realized that you remind me of my brother. I have a feeling that if ya'll ever met you'd be the best of friends."

I stood in front of him with my arms crossed. "If he's anything like you I highly doubt it. Funs over anyways, I have some questions that I want answers to."

"It's not like I'm going anywhere," he subdued.

"Alright, so where are you and your men from? I know ya'll have a nice place to stay judging by your clothes and such."

"We're from a community called Woodbury. It's town not that far from here. It's surrounded by walls so it's secure," he answered bluntly

"Second question, what the hell is ya'lls problem? You almost killed a woman and her two innocent children for stealing one can of food. One!"

"If you heard that part of the conversation, then you probably heard me say that our leader wants us to eliminate any threat to our community."

"That leads me to my third question. Your leader sounds like jackass. Who is he?" I asked wanting an explanation.

Merle smiled a menacing grin but stayed quiet.

"Answer me Merle. Who is he?" I exclaimed growing impatient. That's when the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. My body stiffened, something wasn't right.

"That would be me darling," a deep voice said from behind me. But before I could turn around and see who it was, I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head and my vision subsided to darkness.

 _The sky was clear of light pollution. That was one of the few positive things that came out of the apocalypse. Devyn and I had spent many nights under the now very clear night sky on our trek back to Houston._

 _We had lost the other two girls that were with us only a week after the start of everything. Some people just weren't, let's say mentally capable, of handling the new world. It shocked both Devyn and I to say the least. There was no better way to start your day then by waking up to see your dead but not dead friends dangling from a tree by their necks._

 _I climbed the tree with the efficiency of a squirrel. "You don't need to watch this Devyn," I spoke gently looking down at her. Devyn nodded her head and turned away while I grabbed a screwdriver I had found on the side of the road out of my pocket. I promptly stabbed my, now dead, friends in the head before untying the ropes they hung by._

 _Devyn was brushing the leaves out of her hair when I came back. She stared at me blankly then looked at her feet. "Are you ready to go?" she asked me not looking up._

 _"_ _As ready as I'll ever be," I replied steadily, not missing a beat. Devyn stood up and grabbed her duffel bag, slinging it around her neck. I did the same and glanced over at the two extra that belonged to our friends. "What should we do with their stuff?"_

 _Devyn bit her lip in thought before shrugging her shoulders. "I say we just leave them, there's not anything useful in them anyways. Pom-poms aren't what I classify as necessities," she answered with a dry smile. I nodded in agreement and started walking toward the interstate. We had settled for the night in a small clearing about a mile and a half away from it for some peace and quiet._

 _Things had been getting worse. The disease had been spreading rapidly with no sign of stopping. Luckily, the trip from San Antonio to Houston went through mostly rural areas so our group hadn't ran into a lot of infected people. When we did, I always ended up handling it, not that Devyn and the others couldn't defend themselves. It was just easier that way._

 _For a week we had been traveling alongside I-10 east because I knew that it lead straight through almost every major city in the southern United States. I knew that we were supposed to be avoiding densely populated areas, but Devyn and I had to get home._

 _Cell phone lines have been jammed for 5 days now and the last I heard, my parents were stuck in the city along with Devyn's. The roads leading in and out were completely jammed so they had no way of leaving. My last call with my brothers informed me that they were still at home in the suburbs. They too had no way of leaving because they are both younger than me and can't legally drive. Also, even if they could leave, our house in the suburbs seemed to be that safest place for them at the moment so there was no need too. I could only hope that they were still okay._

 _Devyn and I traveled along the feeder roads of the interstate in silence for hours. It was probably a strange sight for those who saw us. We were still wearing our cheer uniforms because neither of us had anything to change into. Our once white uniforms, were covered in dirt and grass stains while mine had blood smeared all over the front of it. The only things different about what we were wearing the day this all started and now, was the fact that we were no longer wearing our bows._

 _"_ _Jean!" Devyn piped up suddenly. She shook my shoulder rather aggressively and pointed to my left, grinning from ear to ear. "Look at the sign."_

 _I tore my gaze from whatever it was I was looking at and focused in on the green sign hanging above the interstate. A grin broke out on my face as I read the words 'Harris County Jurisdiction Limit'._

 _"_ _We're almost there," I breathed out._

 _Devyn turned towards me. "Imogene, we're so close that when we get to the top of this hill, I bet we'll be able to see the city."_

 _I smirked at her with a mischievous glint in my eyes. "Last one there gets to carry the winners bag the rest of the way."_

 _"_ _Deal," Devyn replied holding out her hand for me to shake. I snorted and broke out into sprint, leaving her behind. "Hey!" she yelled out laughing as she followed in pursuit._

 _My arms pumped back and forth by my side as I lengthened my stride. I could feel my legs burn in protest at the incline I was running. I didn't bother looking back at Devyn because I could hear her thunderous footsteps behind me crunching the leaves. She definitely was not what some people would say, light on her feet._

 _I skidded to a stop at the top of the hill. Devyn was right, this point overlooked the whole city. As she fell in place next to me I dropped my bag near her feet. "Well I'll be dammed," I whispered trailing off. "Devyn, we made it! We walked a 3 hour drive to Houston man!" I cheered excitedly._

 _She turned towards me and laughed. "Hell yea we did!" she boasted. Devyn raised her hand for a high five and I happily obliged._

 _The city of Houston was full of skyscrapers. My favorite one had always been the Memorial Herman Hospital. The top was shaped like a diamond and was always lit up different colors on holidays. It was also where my mom worked as a surgical nurse. It was a wondrous sight to see after what we went through to get here._

 _"_ _Alright so next stop is our wonderful suburban town Richmond, Texas. I never thought that I would be this happy to be home," Devyn sighed looking over at me. I nodded my head in agreement._

 _It's not that Devyn and I didn't like where we lived. We both had just always dreamed of living in a bustling big city where she could go to medical school and where I could study aerospace engineering. We'd planned to go to the University of Washington in Seattle together once we graduate, though Devyn would graduate 2 years before me._

 _"_ _So if we're at I-10 and Barker Cypress-" I said looking at the nearby road sign. "We need to take the next exit. Or is it the one after?" I murmured to myself._

 _Devyn looked at me with a smirk. "Do you need the map?"_

 _I looked over at her and sighed in defeat. "Yea," I grumbled._

 _She laughed before unzipping her duffle bag to retrieve the map that we found at a gas station. Devyn handed it to me with a smug smile. "Here you go Jean."_

 _I took the map from her hands and opened it. I rotated it to my left until it was facing up right. After studying it for a moment, I came to a consensus._

 _"_ _We need to take the next exit and follow that road for about 8 miles. Then we'll be about where our school is. We won't need the map after that," I concluded, folding up the map._

 _I handed it back to Devyn who proceeded to put it back in her bag. "Whatever you say Christopher Columbus," she teased._

 _I rolled my eyes and continued walking. "You know what I miss most Devyn? Hot showers," I stated openly._

 _Devyn nodded her head in agreement while she picked up my duffle bag. "Yea I can relate. You seriously need to wash your hair Imogene. Your hair is normally almost white but it's so greasy and dirty right now that it looks brown like mine," she chuckled._

 _"_ _I'm not going to deny the fact that I need a shower. I also need some clothes, I mean look-" I stop mid-sentence when I heard the familiar roaring of a plane engine. "What the hell?" I murmured under my breath. There's no way a plane could be flying right now._

 _Devyn and I both looked up to see 6 fighter jets in the formation of a pyramid soaring through the sky over us. They started to spread out as they reached the skyline of Houston._

 _"_ _Oh shit," I whispered looking ahead._

 _"_ _What Jean? What's going on?" Devyn asked frantically._

 _I opened my mouth to reply but I never got the chance. The jets started firing on the city. Smoke erupted from buildings along with fire. My eyes focused on my favorite sky scraper, the one my mom worked at. One jet dropped an explosive near the ground floor of the building._

 _"_ _Brace yourself Devyn!" I screeched._

 _We both kneeled to ground just in time for the explosive to go off along with a few others. The ground beneath us shook violently. Living in Texas my whole life, I never experienced an earthquake though I imagine this is what it would feel like._

 _Devyn and I stayed there until the firing ceased and the ground stopped shaking. We both stood up shakily and inhaled sharply when our gaze fell upon the sight that laid before us. The Houston skyline was almost unrecognizable. Dark gray plumes of smoke went up in the air signaling that there were many fires on the ground._

 _I scanned the horizon looking for my favorite skyscraper. It wasn't there._

 _Devyn and I looked at each other. No words needed to be spoken. We both knew what had just happened._

 _Our parents had been killed. Our parents were dead. We were orphans._

I awoke from my sleep panting. That wasn't one of my fondest memories. I reached my hand up to brush a stray stand of hair out of my face but it wouldn't move. I looked down and saw that my hands were tied behind a chair that I was sitting in.

"What the fuck?" I said confused. I wiggled around in my chair to see how tight my restraints were. They were relatively loose.

I scanned the room I was in and it appeared to be completely empty except for me and the chair I was sitting in. There was a door about 6 feet directly in front of me and fluorescent lights on the ceiling above me.

That's when I became aware of my throbbing headache. Or at least what I assumed was a headache. Now you probably won't believe me when I say that I've never been sick before, but I swear it's true. It's a blessing really.

Anyways number 2 fun fact about me for today, I have double jointed shoulders. Now, my friends always thought it was gross how I could basically pop my shoulders out of place with no pain though, in this situation, I realized it would be extremely helpful.

My arms weren't tied to the chair itself. They were just tied together behind my back. Since my shoulders were double jointed, this gave me the ability to bring my hands in front of me, even though they're tied together behind me.

If I brought my hands in front of me, I could free my hands and grab my screwdriver from my boot. Then I could bust of this place.

Just as I was about to put my plan into action I heard footsteps. I put on my calm yet confident neutral expression as if nothing could catch me off guard.

The door creaked open and a middle aged white man walked in. Go figure. He was wearing khaki pants and a dark blue button down shirt. He had a black knife holster around his waist with, you guessed it, a knife. His hair was brown and short but he had gray sideburns.

He smiled at me creepily. "It's about time you woke up darling. I was starting to think that I hit you in the head so hard that you died," he spoke gently walking closer to me. That's when I remembered how I ended up here.

"So you're the infamous jackass leader of Woodbury. I would say it's nice to meet you but it really isn't," I sneered at him. I knew that I should've been nice but considering the circumstances, I believe that my response was justified. So much for my southern hospitality.

He chuckled slightly before bending down to my eye level about 2 feet in front of me. "Yes that would be me though most people just call me the Governor."

I raised an eye brow. "The Governor?" I repeated in disbelief. "Alright then Governor, why am I here? Why did you take me here? I didn't kill any of your men though I could've. Why didn't you just leave me in the woods?"

"Because you intrigue me," he said plainly. "You're a young girl, yet you managed to take a grown ass man hostage, and scare 5 others away. And those men had guns. I'm genuinely impressed by you."

My expression hardened and I let out a dry laugh. "You know nothing about me," I said void of emotion.

"That may be true though I'd like to get to know you. I think you may have a place here at Woodbury," he stated as if he was offering me a winning lottery ticket.

We sat there in silence. I'm pretty sure he expected to me to start crying tears of joy or something. I broke the silence. "Yea I'm good. I don't know what kind of fiasco you're running here, but any people who are willing to kill 3 people over a can of food, aren't my kind of people."

The Governors blue eyes went steely cold. He raised his right hand and slapped me hard on the left side of my face. I wanted to groan in protest but now was not the time to show weakness. My face stung horribly but I kept my composure.

"What makes you think you can talk to me that way kid. It's none of your business how I run my town. Who the hell do you think you are!" he exploded in anger. "You know what, that wasn't a rhetorical question. Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

I leaned forward and stared him dead in the eye. "Who am I?" I repeated coldly chuckling slightly. "I'm you're worst nightmare."

The Governor stood up and turned around, facing away from me. He walked to the door and paused with his hand on the door knob. "I'll come back later and we will talk some more. I suggest that you become more compliant or else things won't end well for you," he divulged before leaving.

I heard the lock click on the door and his footsteps fade way. It was go time.

I took a deep breath and raised my arms behind me, perpendicular to my back. I then turned my wrists outward and proceeded to bring my hands over my head and into my lap. I twisted and turned my wrists until the knot was in my hands. I untied it, freeing my hands and stood up quickly.

Rushing towards the door, I reached into my hair and pulled out a bobby pin. I jammed my pointer finger up the center to separate the teeth a little. I then shoved it into the key hole and jiggled it around until I heard a click.

I cheered mentally whilst grabbing my screwdriver out of my boot for protection. I put my ear to the door and listened for any sign of people. Nothing.

I turned the doorknob slowly and winced when the door creaked. I quietly slipped out of the room and looked left and right. The door opened into the middle of a hallway so I had to decide which way to go.

After a moment of contemplation I decided to take a right. I crept stealthily yet swiftly through the building until I ended up at the base of a flight of stairs. I went up the stairs on my toes to keep quiet and left the building.

I opened the door and walked onto the street. It was dusk out now and I was shocked to see people roaming the town without a care in the world.

"This is absolutely bizarre," I whispered to myself. Kids were laughing with their parents. No one seemed to be carrying weapons. It was almost like the whole apocalypse never happened.

I shook my head to clear it of thoughts. I needed to focus at the current task. To my left, about 3 buildings down, I saw a wall. From what I could tell, it surrounded all of Woodbury. Merle wasn't kidding when he said this place was secure. I could see guards up on the wall walking back and forth.

I put my screwdriver in my boot, trying to blend in with the crowd. I walked towards the building closest to the wall and slipped in silently. I walked around trying to find stairs so I could get to the top floor. I was surrounded by boxes. My best guess was that this was some sort of warehouse for extra supplies.

Finally to my right I saw a stair case. I went up 3 flights of stairs swiftly and ended up at the top floor. This floor like the two before had boxes everywhere. I scanned the room and saw a window. I walked towards it and looked out.

I could see trees which meant it lead to outside the wall. I slowly opened the window and peered down. The wall only went up to about the first floor of the building. It was built literally right next the warehouse I was in.

The guards walking the perimeter of the wall didn't seem to be distracted or anything so I knew I was going to have to take my chances and jump from here to the outside. Now I'm not stupid. I know that three stories is a long way to jump but I was pretty sure I could handle it.

I climbed out of the window and stood on the 6 inch ledge right below it. I pressed myself against the building and took a deep breath.

"Alright Imogene, you can do this," I whispered to myself. "One front flip in the air to slow down your momentum, then roll out of it as soon as your feet grace the ground."

My knees bent then extended rapidly, propelling me forward. I brought my arms to chest and tucked into a ball, flipping around to slow my descent slightly. I opened back up straight with my feet in front of me. The ground was getting closer and closer. The second my feet hit the ground I tucked my chin to my chest and brought my arms in, rolling out of it to save my knees some pain.

I stood up out of the roll and broke into a sprint, hoping the guards didn't notice me.

"Hey it's that crazy blonde chick!" I heard someone say from behind me.

"Dammit," I grumbled and pushed myself to go even faster. My arms pumped by my sides and I leaned my chest forward to increase momentum. Bullets zipped passed me hitting the ground and trees around me. I weaved in and around the trees trying to evade.

My luck had run out for the day however. I felt a piercing pain in my right side above my hip bone.

I had been shot and man did it hurt like a bitch. I bit the inside my cheeks to hold in a scream of agony. I couldn't afford to stop running now. If they caught up to me I'd be as good as dead.

I ran for who knows how long until I stumbled across a familiar tree. Carved into the bark were the letters IA. I sighed in relief and crouched down clutching my side. I paused for a moment and listened for any sign of movement.

Nothing. I relaxed slightly, the men had probably turned back. It was almost completely dark out.

I took this time to catch my breath. I leaned my head back and looked up at the night sky. It was beautiful. I could see the stars as clear as day. There was a full moon tonight which gave everything a silver glow on what otherwise would've been an ominous black night in the forest. It was almost dead quiet with the exception of the locusts.

I was shaken from my reverie when pain once again shot up my side. I took my blood covered hand off of my wound and looked at it to the best of my ability. I could see the butt of the bullet so I didn't go all the through me. I knew that I had to leave it in until I could take it out safely.

It was bitter cold outside now without the heat of the daytime sun. I needed to keep pressure on my wound but also needed to have free hands in order to defend myself. So I made a difficult decision.

My fingers were shaking as I took of my thick grey hoodie. I undid the buttons on the shirt I was wearing underneath and took it off leaving me in a sports bra. I twisted the shirt around twice, then wrapped it around me and tied it tightly in order to keep pressure on the wound. I then put my hoodie back on to keep me warm.

I moved sluggishly from blood loss and from pain. I uncovered the hole I put my stuff in and retrieved it. I slung my quiver over my shoulder and put on my backpack. I took out an arrow and notched it in my bow, pointing it at the ground as I trudged forward.

I didn't walk for long until I was overcame with fatigue. I leaned against a tree trying to regain some strength. I couldn't go on like this much longer. That's when I heard the crunching of leaves. Something or someone was coming.

That's when I saw a boy. What the hell was he doing out here all by himself at night? He seemed completely lost in thought and obviously didn't see me or the infected person that was trailing a few feet behind him. I stood up straight and took my weight off the tree.

Despite my fatigue and gunshot wound, I stood up straight and lifted up my bow. My arrow was already notched so I pulled it back and aimed it at the walker that was directly behind the boy.

He decided at that moment to look up from the ground and see me. His eyes widened considerably and I couldn't help but notice the beautiful blue color of his irises. The moonlight reflected off his cheekbones exposing the freckles that were dotted across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. I noticed he was wearing a cowboy hat which was very odd considering it was almost pitch black outside. Out from beneath his hat I saw dark tufts of thick, wavy hair. He was gorgeous to say the least.

The boy didn't move a muscle which is understandable. Here I was, a stranger, pointed an arrow directly at his head. I'd be shocked too. He still had failed to notice the infected person behind him so I took charge of the situation.

"Duck," I said firmly. Thankfully he complied and ducked down right as I released the arrow. It sunk into the infected persons head causing it to collapse.

I dropped my arms at my side and watched as the boy stood up sharply, looked behind him, then back at me. Neither of us said anything, we merely stared at each other in silence.

My vision was starting to blur and it was getting increasingly more difficult for me to stand up straight. I discreetly used the hand that wasn't holding my bow to touch my wound. I then took the hand out from under my shirt and saw that it was covered in blood.

"Oh shit," I grumbled swaying slightly. I dropped my bow and stumbled forward, no longer able to stand.

The boy reached his arms forwards and caught me. He lowered us to the ground and 0kneeled in front of me as I clutched my side.

"Hey woah are you okay?" he asked me frantically.

I groaned in response. "Does it look like I'm okay cowboy?"

He laughed nervously. "Uh no. No you don't look okay I'm sorry that was a stupid question. What happened to you uh-," he paused not knowing my name. "Hey what is your name anyways?"

I rolled over onto my back and bent my knees upwards. Both of my hands clutched my side while my head ended up in the boys lap. I looked up at the boy and at this point I could barely make out his face because my vision was so obscured. I closed my eyes. I was so tired, all I wanted to do was sleep.

I used all my strength to open my eyes and reply to him though I was so fatigued that I didn't think about what I was going to say until I already said it. "My name is Imogene Adeney but you can call me anytime," I chortled laughing before I passed out for the second time that day.


	3. An Important Moment

The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do, they'll also be the things that happen you. The day Carl Grimes met Imogene Adeney, things hadn't been going well for him. It didn't seem like a day that he would be looking back on fondly.

Carl didn't know it yet, but meeting Imogene would arguably be the best thing that ever happened to him. Only at the time, it sure didn't seem like it.

* * *

 **Carl Grimes**

I should've known better than to go walking around in the woods alone at night. Honestly, I don't why I was even expected this midnight rendezvous to go well. Lately, the universe seemed to have some type of personal vendetta against me.

My dad's going to be absolutely livid when I get back. That is if he was even there. He wasn't even suppose too know that I ever left. The plan was to sneak out the Prison unnoticed and to take a midnight stroll to blow off some steam. Now, I was going to show up there with an unconscious dying in girl in my arms, covered in blood. What a way to arrive unnoticed Carl.

I walked through the forest with a fast pace which was difficult considering the fact that I carrying a teenage girl along with all of her stuff. Crimson had already began to seep through Imogene's gray hoodie causing me to get blood on my shirt. I looked down at her face. Her striking facial features were deathly pale against the silver light of the moon. Her white blonde hair almost matched her face at this point.

My pace quickened. She didn't have much time and I was not about to let her die. Imogene might've been a complete stranger to me, but she saved my life. I owed her this much.

I didn't even bother trying to walk light on my feet because with all the weight I was carrying, it would've been impossible. I was lucky enough to not have run into any walkers yet. I had no way of defending myself, much less Imogene and I.

I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing when I left the Prison. It was really stupid of me to just leave without telling anybody, or without bringing a weapon, but I just had to get out of there in order to process what had happened.

My mom had died giving birth to my sister. I had to shoot her in the head. My dad was going crazy.

It seemed as if I was all alone in the world.

I could hardly stand to look at my gun, much less use it. That's why I didn't bring it with me. I'd get over it with time but as for now, I didn't see myself using it anytime soon.

I was shaken from thoughts when I finally broke through the tree line. I stepped out into the open, and there it was, the Prison. There weren't that many walkers around thankfully but I still had to get us in through a crack in the fence. There was no time to waste. I was not about have another person die in front of me today.

I broke into the fastest sprint I could manage, weaving in and around walkers. My thunderous footsteps on the dead leaves attracted every walker in the near vicinity, though I tried not to dwell on that. I kept my pace up until I reached a familiar part of the fence.

Though it was difficult to recognize in the dark, I was able to locate the red wire that sewed a piece of the cut fence together. It was the same place we originally entered the Prison through. Kneeling to the ground, I placed Imogene gently on the grass and dropped her bow beside her. I kept her backpack and quiver on while my fingers went to work untying the intricately weaved wire.

The growling and groaning of the walkers were getting increasingly closer. I took one moment to glance over and saw that they closer than I anticipated.

"Shit," I whispered to myself as I went back to untying the wire, quicker this time. What the hell was I supposed to do?

I snuck a peak at Imogene who was laying on the ground next to me completely defenseless. She looked so vulnerable and peaceful while she slept and from the brief minute or two I spoke with her, she seemed to be neither of those things.

Finally I finished unweaving the red wire. I threw it on the ground and stuck one leg through the slit in the fence to open it up. I grunted as I picked up Imogene with one arm supporting her head while the other went under knees, and maneuvered her limp body through the crack. I gently laid her on the ground, picked up her bow, and brought it inside with me with one hand holding my hat on my head.

I needed to re-secure the fence but there were at least a dozen walkers pressed up against it. I somehow needed to find a way to kill them, or drive them away. Deciding that it was easiest just to kill them, I reached my arm behind my back and grabbed and arrow from Imogene's quiver. Since I couldn't use a bow and arrow effectively, I stuck to just stabbing the walkers' heads with the arrow through the holes in the fence.

Once they were all down on the ground dead, I started to reweave the red wire through the fence. I didn't do it as intricately as it was before I undid it because Imogene was running out of time. I finished and deemed that I did a sufficient job and proceeded to once again pick up Imogene and her bow.

I raced around the circumference of the courtyard and entered through the gate leading up to the Prison. My legs burned in protest as I ran up the grassy incline of the hill. I propped Imogene up using my knee in order to free one of my hands. I opened the gate at the top of the hill and passed through it using my leg to kick it shut.

"Carl, who the hell is this?" a deep voice asked from beside me. I whipped my head to the side and saw Daryl standing next to me with his arms crossed. He must've been in the guard tower working his shift.

"Her name is Imogene and she's dying. We need to help her," I let out breathing heavily. Daryl stared at me with a blank expression. "Please," I whispered desperately.

Daryl sighed before replying in a gruff voice. "Fine. Give her here," he commanded holding his arms out, one grasping his crossbow.

I walked closer and handed Imogene over to him while taking his crossbow into my hand that wasn't holding Imogene's bow. He took her securely in his arms and followed me as we made our way to C Block.

"Why did you go out there by yourself kid? At night of all times?" Daryl asked me, not sparing a glance. Our footsteps echoed throughout the concrete walls of the corridor. It was eerie down here at night considering that the lights weren't even on. We were navigating ourselves by memory.

I picked up my pace to keep up with Daryl's long strides. "I just, needed to get out of here. Even if it was just for a few minutes. After what happened this afternoon, this place seemed suffocating," I explained trailing off at the end.

Daryl nodded in understanding. I knew he was good at hiding his emotions, but I could still see sympathy in his eyes despite the darkness. It radiated off of him like a pungent odor.

"That blood on your shirt-" Daryl paused looking me over. "That's hers right?" I nodded in response. "Good," he said shortly. "I know it doesn't seem like it now kid, but your dad loves you ya know. He just has a different way of dealing with grief. Rick will come around eventually, he just needs some time. Until then, I can't have you running around in the forest at night picking up half dead chicks. Your dad just lost his wife, he doesn't need to lose you as well."

I was shocked by Daryl's words though I tried not to show it. "Understood," I stated simply smiling to myself. "Speaking of my dad, has he come back to the cell block yet? Or is he still wondering off god knows where?" I wondered.

"Last time I checked he was still AWOL. Sorry kid."

It was quiet after that. Neither of us spoke. The only sounds to be heard were our footsteps and my heavy breathing from exhaustion. My body was fatigued beyond compare but my mind was wide awake with adrenaline.

Finally we reached the entrance of C Block. The large cell door creaked loudly as we entered, probably waking up the lighter sleepers of the group. Daryl and I walked into one of the cells on the ground floor and placed Imogene on the bottom bunk bed.

I grasped Imogene bow and drug it back and forth along the cell door creating a loud, constant banging noise to wake everyone up. "We need some help down here!" Daryl shouted.

I could hear the creaking of metal doors as people exited their cells. Footsteps raced down the steps and I watched as Maggie and Glenn appeared first looking frazzled. Maggie had her hand wrapped around the hilt of her knife while Glenn was holding a crowbar.

Maggie's eyes widened as she took in my appearance. "Carl what the hell happened to you?" she asked, a look of fearful concern upon her face.

"I'm fine, it's not my blood," I answered shaking my head.

Both of them looked confused until Daryl spoke up. "In here guys!" Glenn and Maggie turned their heads to the sound of his voice and entered the cell he was in.

"Who is that?" Glenn asked staring at Imogene. Maggie rushed passed him and over to her side. She started looking her over while Glenn stood in the doorway of the cell gob smacked.

"Her name is Imogene. I found her in the woods," I explained glancing over at her.

More footsteps could be heard going down the stairs so I exited the cell to see who it was. I watched as Hershel hobbled down the stairs slowly with the help of his youngest daughter Beth. Though he was able to move decently with his amputated leg, Hershel still hadn't become completely self-reliant.

"I need some light in here!" Maggie ordered. "Also some gauze, tweezers, and any other supplies ya'll can find."

"I'll go get what I can find," Beth offered. "Carl can you come help?" she asked nodding her head towards Hershel.

I squatted down and placed Daryl's crossbow and Imogene's bow on the floor. I stood up straight and walked over to them, meeting them halfway down the stairs. I grabbed Hershel's left elbow and let him lean on me as we made our descent. Beth let go of his right elbow and rushed off to one of the many supply rooms. Glenn and Daryl excited the cell to make some room as Hershel and I entered. Glenn drug a chair in and placed it near Imogene's abdomen so Hershel had a place to sit.

Maggie grabbed the hem of Imogene's blood soaked hoodie and gently tugged it over her head, leaving her in only a sports bra and what looked like to be a button up shirt wrapped around her waist. I couldn't tell what color it used to be because it was dripping in blood from what I could tell in this terrible lighting.

Once again the sound of clambering footsteps echoed throughout the cell block. Beth rushed in with a container of supplies. "I got a little bit of everything and some flashlights," she breathed out placing the container by Hershel's feet.

Maggie and I both muttered a quick thank you and grabbed one flashlight each. We kept the light directed at Hershel's hands as he went to work examining Imogene's wound. Everyone else stood back silently watching his every move, awaiting his verdict.

"Looks like the poor thing was shot," Hershel announced to us, not sparing a glance. "Her abdomen doesn't seem to be distended at all which is good. There's no exit wound and the bullet is still intact. I need to get the bullet out and stitch her up. At this point the risk of infection is her biggest problem besides blood loss."

I let out a shaky breath. "She'll be okay though right? As long as she gets blood and stuff?" I asked for confirmation. Everyone looked at me as if they forgot I was there.

Hershel paused and turned around to look at me. "Carl, you and I both know I can't promise anything," he spoke gently. I merely nodded in response, looking at my feet. "Look son, in a few minutes I'm going to have to take this bullet out of… Imogene is it?" he asked for verification.

"Yea," I mumbled.

For the first time I was in a position to get a good look at Imogene's face. With the light from the flashlights illuminating the room, I was able to see the freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose and cheek bones. They stood out against her deathly pale skin though I knew that was from blood loss.

Her eyebrows were a light brown color that contrasted greatly with her platinum blonde hair. The roots of her hair were the same color so I knew it was natural. It's not like people went out and dyed their hair in the middle of the apocalypse anyway. She had a prominent jaw line and cheek bones with a nose that had a slight crook beneath her eyes. Her parted full lips were tinted a rosy pink and her bottom lip had a freckle in the middle. I didn't know this girl at all, but the name Imogene seemed to fit her.

Hershel's calm voice broke me from my trance. I looked away from Imogene's face and turned my attention back to him. "I'm going to be taking this bullet out of Imogene in a few minutes. Now you of all people know how much that's going to hurt her."

My mind flooded with vague memories of the time I was shot. I don't remember much because I was passed out a majority of the time, though I do remember the agony unlike anything I'd ever felt. Pain ripped through my stomach and throbbed with the erratic beating my heart. It never ceased and only got worse when Hershel went in and retrieved the bullet fragments. Thankfully, Imogene's bullet was still intact so she wouldn't have to endure that.

"After what happened to your mother today, I don't think you should be in here while I work on her," Hershel concluded.

I gave him a look of disbelief. "What do you mean I shouldn't be in here? I brought her here I- I need to see this through," I stuttered out though I knew he was right.

Maggie and Hershel shared a glance. She looked back at me and held her hand out. I sighed in defeat and gave her my flashlight. She pointed both of them to Imogene's wound as Hershel went back to work.

After examining the wound for a moment, he leaned over and reached into the container by his feet. Maggie redirected the flashlights as he rummaged around looking for something specific. He pulled out a 4 foot tube with a needle attached to both ends.

"Do any of ya'll have type 0 negative blood?" Hershel asked sitting up.

We all looked around at each other. "I do," Daryl piped up from the doorway. He walked forward and held out his arm. "Go ahead," he grumbled quietly.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Glenn standing next to me. "C'mon Carl. We need to look through her backpack," he spoke gently nudging me out of the cell. I knew he was just trying to get me from what was about to happen so I obliged, nodding my head in agreement.

On the way out I stopped and picked up Imogene's bow in which I had put on the floor. I followed Glenn to the staircase and followed in suit as he sat down on the steps. The thin metal step was cold through the fabric of my jeans. One of my hands rested on the railing which was rusted over and very rough, peeling with old off white paint. The silver light from the moon streamed through the dirty windows overhead giving us a decent amount of light.

I leaned over to my left away from Glenn and slid Imogene's backpack off my shoulders along with her quiver. I placed the quiver on the ground in front of my feet and sat her backpack in my lap. My fingers played with one of the zippers as I hesitated to open it.

"I feel guilty snooping through her stuff," I admitted looking at Glenn.

He smiled grimly. "I don't like doing this kind of stuff either, but it's what your dad would do in this situation. We need to know if she's threat to us."

I looked down at the mentioning of my dad. I knew that this is exactly what he would do though I didn't always agree with his methods. I understand why he does what he does but that doesn't mean I like it.

"Yea, I guess," I whispered with a sigh of relinquishment. My fingers took hold of the zipper and pulled open Imogene's backpack.

Glenn and I both held our breath as if we were expecting something to jump out at us. I slowly reached my hand in and blindly pulled things out, listing it off I went.

"Let's see here we have a composition notebook, a lighter, a hair brush with some hair ties wrapped around the handle, and holy cra guns," I said stunned.

Glenn placed the notebook and hair brush on the ground by his feet. He took the guns and opened up each one to look them over. "They're in good condition and fully loaded as well. I wonder where she found these. These days fully loaded guns are as good as gold," he marveled. Glenn checked to make safety was on all the guns and placed them by his feet as well. "Is that it?"

"No," I answered turning my attention back to the backpack. "There's also a toothbrush, a box of granola bars, a bag of kale chips… gross, 2 water bottles, a container of bobby pins, a pocket knife, this weird sword thing, a pencil, and a-," I paused as I took out the last thing. I turned it once over in my hands to make sure I was seeing things correctly."

"And a what?" Glenn asked, urging me to continue.

"A math textbook," I replied in disbelief handing it over to him. "Who the hell carries a math textbook around in the middle of the zombie apocalypse?"

Glenn laughed slightly and opened up the book. He flipped through the pages with a delicate touch, savoring the normalcy of it. "She must like doing math I guess. It's filled with writing. She must've been solving the problems in the book for fun."

I scoffed. "For fun? Wow." It was silent between us for a moment until Beth walked out of the cell Imogene was in. We both looked over at her and sat up straight in anticipation.

"Dad got the bullet out. She didn't wake up at all when he was taking it out or stitching her up," she informed us. I had almost forgotten that I was supposed to be hearing agonizing screams. "Her face has some color in it now thanks to Daryl's blood transfusion. Right now they're just putting a bandage over her stitches. From what we can tell, it seems like she'll be perfectly alright."

I smiled and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I tilted my head back and covered my face with my hands. "Oh thank god," I said in relief.

I could feel both Beth and Glenn's eyes on me as I leaned back. I uncovered my face and sat up straight looking between the both of them. "What?" I inquired shrugging my shoulders.

They shared a look then turned back to me. "I'm sorry but I have to ask. What happened Carl? We all go to sleep and your still here. Next thing you know, we wake up to screaming and yelling, only to see you covered in blood carrying some half dead stranger," Beth let out sounding worried.

I looked down and played with the hem of my shirt. My hat fell forward a little bit obscuring my vision so I was unable to see neither Beth nor Glenn.

"I had to shoot my mom in the head today," I stated looking up at them. I reached my right hand up and repositioned my hat. "Carol is in the tombs of the prison somewhere probably dead. T-Dog is dead. My dad is AWOL, and I now have a sister that I have no idea how to take care of. This place was suffocating me," I whimpered gesturing around me. "All the looks filled with pity, the sound of a baby crying with no mother to comfort her. It was too much so when you all went to sleep I snuck out into the forest. I needed to mull things over alone in peace and I thought that was the only way I could get some."

At this point Daryl had exited Imogene's cell as well as Maggie assisting Hershel. Daryl looked flushed which probably came from donating blood. The front of Hershel's shirt had blood splatters on it while Maggie's had a miniscule amount as well. I looked over at them for a split second before continuing.

"I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice a walker that had been trailing behind me for who knows how long. I looked up from the ground and saw Imogene standing there with a notched arrow pointing directly at my head. She had the fiercest expression on her face which looking back on it I'm impressed by because as it turns out that whole time she was actually bleeding to death slowly from a gunshot wound. We stared at each other in silence until she told me to duck in an unwavering voice. I listened and the next thing you know there's a dead walker behind me with an arrow in its head and a passed out girl laying in my lap."

It was quiet after I finished my story. Glenn was the first to break the deafening silence. "Well she doesn't seem to be a threat to us at least. I'm just curious as to how she got shot in the first place."

We all nodded in agreement. "Yea but she seems to be pretty badass. No telling what she's capable of at full strength," Daryl voiced his opinion.

I chuckled and reached down to floor in front of Glenn's feet. "She may be a badass but she carries around a math textbook in her backpack so Imogene seems to be a closet dork," I divulged picking up the textbook and holding it up for everyone to see.

This elected a laugh from everyone, lightening the air around us on this very eventful day. I smiled at the ground and placed the textbook in Imogene's backpack. Glenn handed me her notebook, pencil, hairbrush, food, water, bobby pins, pocket knife, and lighter. I placed it all back in her bag with the textbook. Glenn picked the guns off of the ground and looked them over.

"Are those hers?" Maggie asked.

I looked over at her and nodded. "They're fully loaded too."

"Should we keep them?" Daryl wondered.

"Rick would want us too," Glenn added looking up at him.

Hershel spoke up. "Look just because my Rick does something, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. He isn't even here right now so ya'll can make this decision on your own."

"After what happened today, having 3 more guns wouldn't be the worst thing in the world," Maggie admitted. Daryl and Glenn nodded in agreement.

The sound of a crying baby pierced the air receiving the attention of everyone. "I got it," Beth piped up before racing up the stairs.

Maggie yawned. "Look guys, do whatever you think is right but it's really late and I'm ready for some sleep. Plus I have watch duty in-," she paused to look at her watch. "4 hours," she finished with a groan.

"I'm going to turn in too. I'll come check in on the girl in the morning," Hershel added. "But like Daryl said, we have no idea what she's capable of. I think we should get a pair of handcuffs out of Rick's cell and secure her to the bed. It's not that I think she'll kill us in our sleep, but I don't think we should take any chances."

"I'll throw a pair down," Maggie informed us. With that she turned around and started walking up the stairs, Hershel in tow.

The sound of my sisters crying faded away and was replaced by the soft melodic voice of Beth. I wasn't able to recognize the song she was singing because it was pretty muffled, but it was soothing.

"Think fast," a voice said from above. I looked up the see Maggie leaning over the railing holding a pair of handcuffs. She let go of them and Daryl reached out with one hand, catching it effortlessly.

He twirled them around with his finger. "I'll cuff her to the bed but I need to get back outside for my guard shift. I've been gone a while."

I reached into Imogene's backpack and rummaged around looking for her box of granola bars. I pulled one out and stood up, holding it out for Daryl. "You should eat this so you don't get lightheaded and pass out," I advised. He took it from my hand and muttered a quiet thank you before heading into Imogene's cell to cuff her.

Glenn stood up from his seat on the steps. "Do you think we should keep her guns?" he asked looking me in the eyes

I was albeit a little astonished that he was including me in this decision. I knew that I was young so when I was left out of group choices before, I didn't get mad. My dad saw me as a child and didn't trust me to make influential judgements on my own. Eventually he's going to have to start seeing me as someone who is somewhat responsible enough to handle himself, though I didn't see that happening anytime in the near future.

"Honestly, I think we should let her keep them. From what I can tell, Imogene seems to be all on her own. Not that she can't handle herself, but she probably needs them more than we do. Like you said before, fully loaded guns are as good as gold nowadays," I voiced my opinion. Glenn nodded his head in response, mulling it over.

Daryl walked out of Imogene's cell and bent down to pick his crossbow off of the floor. He stood back up and held it by his side, walking towards the exit of the cell block. He opened the door and paused in the door way. Daryl turned around and waved goodbye before disappearing into the pitch black tombs of the West Georgia Correctional Facility.

I looked away from where Daryl once stood and turned my attention back to Glenn. He held the guns out to me, two in one and hand and one in the other. I raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded his head in reassurance. I smiled and put the guns into her backpack, zipping it up once I finished.

"You should stay the night in her cell and watch over her. I trust that you'll be able to handle it. Just don't let her kill you in your sleep," Glenn said as he turned around and started walking up the stairs. He stopped halfway up and turned around to look at me. "Next time you're having problems Carl, you can come talk to me and Maggie if you want. We'll listen. There's no need to go walking around in the woods at night. I know it seems like the world is falling down around you right now, but it'll get better. I'm sure of it," he assured me with a gentle smile. With that he turned back around and continued his ascent up the stairs.

Glenn disappeared into his and Maggie's cell. Beth's singing had stopped. It was just me now.

I stood on there on the ground floor of the cell block all alone. My shirt was covered in blood. What to do now.

I found my eyes peering into Imogene's cell. I picked up her bow and quiver and made my over. I walked in and dropped her stuff by the entrance of the cell. I left the cell door open behind me. There was no reason to shut it.

I pushed the chair that Hershel was sitting in away from Imogene's abdomen. I made sure that it was far enough away that if she were to wake up and go crazy, she wouldn't be able to grab me.

Imogene was still passed out on the bottom bunk. Her right hand was handcuffed to the metal bed post that helped hold up the top bunk. Her hair was splayed out across the white pillow beneath her head. Her hair was almost the same color as the pillow though it had a little bit more blonde tint to it.

She looked a lot healthier than she did when I last saw her. Her face had some color in it and her cheeks had a tinge of pink. She looked completely relaxed and I noticed that the corners of her lips were tilted upwards. Her resting face was a slight smile.

Imogene was still wearing only a sports bra which allowed me to see the thick bandage that covered her gunshot wound. I figured that she would get cold so I stood on my tip toes and grabbed a somewhat clean blanket from the top bunk to cover her with. Her hoodie and shirt were both ruined so we'd have to find her some clothes when she woke up. Until then however, I took off my jacket and placed it over her underneath the blanket. It was relatively clean because it was unzipped while I carried her to the Prison so my shirt underneath got most of the damage. She needed it more than I did.

I stepped back away from her and took a seat in Hershel's chair which now sat in front of the far wall. I leaned back and rested my head against the wall. The adrenaline from earlier had worn off leaving me very sleepy. I closed my eyes to rest for a split second but before I knew it, I was drifting off into dreamless sleep.

Hours later I woke up to sunlight streaming through the dirty windows of the prison and onto my face. I stretched my arms out yawning and opened my eyes, only to see that Imogene was gone. The handcuffs on the bed were undone while my jacket was nowhere to be seen. Her bloody shirt and hoodie were still by the container on the floor full of medical supplies.

I stood up quickly and looked by the entrance of the cell. Her backpack, quiver, and bow were gone as well.

"Shit," I whispered to myself. I rubbed my face with my hands trying to wipe away to grogginess from not getting enough sleep. I took a step forward towards the bed and heard a crunch. I lifted my foot up and saw something strange.

At closer inspection, I noticed a piece of paper had fallen onto the floor by my feet. I leaned down and picked it up with one hand while the other gripped my hat to my head. It was folded in half and on the front the word 'Cowboy' was written in neat handwriting. The left side of the paper was rigged which lead me to believe it was ripped out of a notebook.

Imogene's notebook.

My fingers fumbled with the paper as I unfolded it quickly, overcome with curiosity. I flattened out the paper with my hands and started reading.

 _Dearest Cowboy,_

 _Next time you decide to hand cuff a chick to a bed, make sure she doesn't have any bobby pins in her hair. Actually scratch that, anytime you handcuff anyone to a bed who has longish hair, make sure they don't have any bobby pins in their hair. I'm not here to judge, boys can have long hair too._

 _Bobby pins are excellent for picking locks so maybe ya'll should invest in some. I've found them to be very useful in my experience. Just separate the teeth a little bit and jiggle it around in the lock until you hear a click. As simple as that._

 _Also, you guys should start patting people down for weapons. I had a screwdriver in my boot the whole time and if used correctly is a deadly weapon._

 _I just wanted to say thank you for helping me. I know how much of a risk it can be to take in a total stranger nowadays so I appreciate what you and your group did for me (I'm assuming you don't live in this huge Prison by yourself)._

 _That being said, though ya'll did help me, you're still total strangers (to me at least) so I hope you can understand why I had to leave. I'm not in a position right now where I can begin to put blind faith in people I don't know. You guys seem like good people but I've had some run in's lately with people who aren't. Hence the gunshot wound._

 _As a token of my gratitude, I'm going to leave you five gifts._

 _The first gift is the best gift of all. Words of wisdom. Though I may only be 15 I feel like I've accomplished enough to be able to give this advice. Don't be stupid and go out alone in the woods alone at night. If you have to however, be smart check your surroundings every once and awhile. I probably won't be there next time to save your ass._

 _Gift number two is an ally. If you or your group is ever in a situation in which you need help and I'm available to assist, I'll have ya'lls back. I'm a pretty good shot with a bow and arrow if I do say so myself though I can't shoot a gun to save my life._

 _That leads me to gifts 3 4 and 5. If ya'll were smart then you probably checked my backpack to see what I had, which means you probably saw the 3 guns I had in there. If you didn't know that well, SURPRISE! Anyway, like I said before, I can't shoot a gun to save my life so if you check under the pillow on the bottom bunk, you will see the 3 guns I had, fully loaded with ammunition. I have no use for them and they shouldn't go to waste so go nuts._

 _Well that brings me to the end of what I hope was an informative note. It was nice meeting you Cowboy even if we only did speak for about a minute._

 _Best of luck from your friendly neighborhood Katniss Everdeen,_

 _Imogene Adeney_

 _P.S. I took your jacket because it's hella cold outside and well, as you probably know my jacket and shirt are both ruined._

I finished reading the note smiling to myself. I folded it back up and put it in the back pocket of my jeans. I walked over to the bottom bunk bed and lifted up the pillow and sure enough, there were the 3 guns. I checked them all to make sure the ammo was still in them, which it was.

I grabbed the guns and walked out into the cell block laughing to myself. "Isn't she something else."


	4. Merle Strikes Back

There's no greater fraud than a promise not kept. People with good intentions make promises, but people with good character keep them. Imogene Adeney was far from perfect but if there's one thing she made sure to always follow through on, it was a promise.

* * *

 **Imogene Adeney**

Along with the end of the world came many changes to everyday life. For example, I no longer take shower every morning or clean the dirty dishes before leaving my house to catch the bus to school or a ride from Devyn. I no longer spend my afternoons in the school cafeteria practicing for the next school pep rally.

Internet memes are also a thing of the past though from time to time I do think about them. I have a lot of free time and since I live the life of a lone wolf, my mind tends to wonder because I have no one to talk to. I wonder what the peanut butter baby is up to or whether or not Joe Biden and Barack Obama are still best friends, assuming they're both still alive.

Though there were many changes with the start of the new world, there are some things that stayed the same. For example, I'm still very much a morning person. I can get up at 6am no problem, ready to run a marathon. I still love unfrosted strawberry poptarts, hate tomatoes, and chew way to much gum. Seriously, I can go through almost a pack a day.

I also solve math equations on the daily and write constantly in my journal. Like I said before, I have a lot of free time. Instead of just wasting away in the woods killing the infected, I decided to journal my experiences in the apocalypse for the next generation of people. Everything that's happened to me since the start of everything is written in one composition notebook, though I'm going to need to get a new one soon because the one I've been using is almost full.

Math was always my favorite subject in school as long as I could remember. I'm not entirely sure what enticed me about the subject, but I'm pretty sure it was the fact that everything had a right or wrong answer. It was all black and white, no gray area.

I preferred my questions that way. Easy with a straightforward method to solve, answered with clean cut edges. But I as I matured and entered the world of harsh reality, I realized that the answers aren't going to get any simpler while the questions won't get any less complex.

That didn't stop from practicing my math however. I entered high school but never finished so technically I'm a high school dropout. I wasn't very fond of that title so I continued learning as much as I could. Textbooks, if you didn't already know, are heavy so I decided to only study one course at a time to save my back and space in my bag.

Every morning I wake up at the crack of daybreak, and start my day with math equations. More specifically, Geometry. It's a good way to kick start my mind in the mornings because I can't afford to be sluggish. Living on your own means no one has your back. No one can help you. Not that I usually needed help or anything.

I usually slept high above the ground in a tree in order to stay away from the roaming infected and deranged people. I tried sleeping on the ground with some cans on a string surrounding the perimeter of where I was, but I'm a very heavy sleeper. Those cans could ring all day signaling an infected person or any immediate danger, and I still wouldn't wake up.

I rarely stayed in houses after Devyn, my brothers, and I got separated. I grew up in a house living with four other people, so it was really weird for me staying in a quiet house all by myself. My home back in suburban Houston, Texas was never completely quiet or empty. There was always at least one other person home with me.

Being and extroverted person, I thrive in the presence of people. It took a while for me to adjust to the life I live I now. Not the fighting infected people part, the living on my own part.

Anyways, so sleeping in a tree took some getting used to. Sleeping upright was quite a challenge for me considering that I slept laying down for 15 years. Also, I had to train myself to not rest my head on my shoulder while I slept because I would wake up with a horrible ache in my neck. I don't mean to brag or anything, but I'm basically an expert at tree sleeping. That all changed when I got shot.

The night I escaped the Prison, I didn't sleep at all. I spent the night wondering down a nearby road that I knew lead to a Pharmacy. The people who lived in the Prison stitched me up nicely and covered my wound with a bandage, but I knew that wouldn't last long.

I picked up a sufficient amount of bandages, a small to go container of Advil, and some disinfectant. I packed that all into my bag and went on my way. I spent the rest of the day in the seat of some old, broken down car journaling what had happened the past two days, and starting a new unit of math lessons.

I was able to finally climb a tree again after about a week. I couldn't get too far up without my side stretching so much that I was nervous my stitches would tear. After waiting a week, I figured if the stitches tore, my wound would already be mostly healed anyway so I could just cover it with a bandage. The stitches never actually tore though. Every morning when I took off the bandage to put on some disinfectant, they were still intact.

When I woke up this morning, I decided today would be the day that I took the stitches out. They've been in for two weeks now and to be honest at this point they're doing more harm than good. All they do is restrict my movement.

After finishing my math lesson for the day, I packed my textbook and pencil into my backpack. I scanned the ground below me for any potential threats before dropping it about 10 feet to the ground. I grabbed my quiver and bow from a fork in the tree I was staying in above me.

I untied the rope that attached me to the tree and put it in the side pocket of my quiver. It was a new piece of rope that I found in a nearby store. When the Governor and Merle kidnapped me, they left my old rope by the tree I tied Merle too so I had to get a new one.

My thighs clenched around the branch while I placed my left hand in front of me for balance. I put my quiver over my shoulder and gripped my bow tightly with my right hand. I swung my left leg over the branch I was straddling and brought it next to my right leg

Once again, I scanned my surroundings for any sign of danger. When my eyes picked nothing up, I took a deep breath and pushed myself off of the branch. My arms extended from my sides to balance me in the air as I descended the ten feet to the ground rapidly.

I bent my knees slightly to lessen the impact and landed in a crouching position. Standing up, I reached a hand over my shoulder and grabbed an arrow before notching it in my bow. I kept no tension in the string and aimed it at the ground as I looked for the suns orientation.

From what I can remember about the night I escaped the Prison, the nearest pharmacy was wedged between a few other stores on a very pathetically sized strip mall. I walked directly east into the forest from the pharmacy and haven't moved around much since, so in order to get back there I needed to walk west.

Though I had already been up for at least an hour, it was still very early in the day. The morning dew coated the forest floor and the leaves of the trees, giving my surroundings an iridescent sheen. It was very tranquil with the occasional chirp of a bird piercing the silence.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, casting long shadows along the ground. I knew from prior knowledge that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Knowing that always came in handy when navigating unknown terrain since compasses are hard to come by.

I turned myself around and kept my back facing the sun as I started walking.

The journey to the pharmacy was rather uneventful. I shot three of the infected through the head and my lunch, a squirrel, through the eye. I used the same arrow to kill all three of the walkers and new clean one to kill the squirrel. I didn't want to take any chances ingesting any infected blood from the dirty arrow.

The squirrel I caught was swinging by my side, its bushy tail secured to the belt loop of my dark wash skinny jeans. I kept my arrow notched and ears perked, listening for any sign of an infected. I had been walking for at least a few hours as the sun's rays were almost coming down perpendicular the ground. I was walking at a pretty slow pace because I wasn't in any rush to take these stitches out. I'm a lot of things but I'm not a masochist.

My brown lace up boots made little noise as I broke out of the forest tree line. I raised my bow and arrow in caution, scanning my surrounding for any threat. When I deemed myself safe for the time being, I placed my bow and arrow on the ground along with my backpack and quiver.

As the day went on the temperature rose and I was starting to get really hot in the jacket I was wearing. The average daytime temperature had been rising steadily the past two weeks, so I was starting to run out times to wear my jacket. Well technically it wasn't my jacket, it was the boy's that I met in the woods the night I got shot. His worried face flashed into my mind as I unzipped the black jacket and tied its' sleeves around my waist. I made sure to keep it relatively clean because I hoped to one day return it to him.

 _Him_. That's what I've been calling the boy in my mind when he crossed my train of thought since I didn't actually know his name, though he knew mine. A part of me likes to think that I told him my name because I was delirious from blood loss and exhaustion, but deep down I knew I told him because my gut instinct told me I could trust him.

From what I can tell, my gut instinct was correct in that assumption because he took me, a total stranger, into his base and saved my life. Granted I did save his first so I guess we're sort of even in a sense. I mean he could've left me out to die all alone in the woods but he didn't. That has to mean something right?

I was shaken from my reverie by the faint sound of car engine in the distance. It was getting louder and more audible by the second so I quickly dove to the grass on my stomach and into the ditch. I kept low to the ground, hoping they wouldn't notice me. My shirt was a pretty olive green color so it would help camouflage me but my dark jeans and platinum blonde hair were anything but subtle.

"Now would be a good time to repay me for the shit set of cards you dealt me universe," I muttered under my breath. The sound of tires rolling against the weathered pavement got more prominent until it started to fade away into the not so far away distance.

My head perked up as soon as the car passed my near vicinity. The breeze from the speed of the car caused my ponytail to whip around my head and into my mouth. I shook my head side to side and used my left hand to wipe my hair off of my face.

I propped myself up on my elbows and watched as an old red van with a white horizontal stripe traveling through the center, slowed down and turned right into the parking lot of the strip mall I was looking for. I wasn't looking to start a fight today so I planned to just slowly make my over to cars surrounding the area and scavenge for supplies to pass some time.

I shouldered my quiver and backpack and kept my bow by my side. I kept one arrow notched in case of an emergency but once again, as soon as I got over there, my curiosity got the best of me. I couldn't help but watch and listen in on the conversation the 2 people who came out of the car were having so I completely abandoned the task I set out for myself.

There was a man and a woman and they both seemed to be in their late 20's. From watching their body language I could tell that they were very comfortable around each other. They were probably dating or maybe even married.

The woman had short brown wavy hair a slightly tanned complexion. She was wearing a dark gray fitted tank top with black jeans and a tan belt. I was unable to distinguish the color of her eyes from my position behind one of the vehicles, but I could see that she had a nice knife that was at least six inches along with a sheath.

The man she came with looked to be Korean, but don't hold me to that assumption. He was wearing jeans that were a weird mix of brown and green with a black shirt. He had a small backpack slung over his left shoulder and a handgun holstered in his belt.

My suspicions of them being together were confirmed when they shared a kiss. They both spoke quietly to one another before the man went back to the car, probably to retrieve something. I smiled to myself and quietly placed my backpack on the ground so it wouldn't make noise with every move I made.

He pulled out a pair of what seemed to be hedge clippers and used them to cut the chains that were holding the doors to one of the stores closed. The man grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. Suddenly flashes of black streaked across my line of vision accompanied by the familiar sound of crows and their flapping wings.

Out of habit and raised my bow and pulled back on the arrow, aiming it towards the noise. I let out a breath and lowered my weapon when I realized there was no immediate threat. However, I felt the unmistakable feeling of a burning gaze coming from my right.

I snap my head to the side quickly, my ponytail whipping around behind me. My gaze fell upon a black woman who was covered in blood. She had what seemed to a long sword crossed behind her back and man did she look badass. She stood behind an old truck crouched down like me, obviously listening to their conversation as well.

She raised one finger and brought to the center on her lips, signaling for me to stay quiet. I merely raised an eyebrow at her and nodded my head slowly up and down, feeling skeptical of this woman's intentions. To be fair, she could've killed me already if she wanted to I figured I was reasonably safe in her presence for the time being.

I turned my attention back to the other strangers, glancing over at the lady every few moments to keep an eye on her. She was doing the same as I could feel her eyes on me.

The couple didn't seem to be doing anything other than grabbing supplies and I was starting to lose interest until the woman said something important. "A kid growing up in a prison could use some toys," she explained smiling.

I perked up at that sentence and looked over at the lady next to me. She seemed intrigued as well, almost as if the statement brought back memories. We made eye contact with each other before turning away.

The odds that they were talking about a different Prison than the one I was thinking off were slim. They had to have come from the Prison where that boy took me. I wondered what they meant by kid. Did they have a young child there? They couldn't have been referring to the boy, he was too old for toys.

I was contemplating my next move when I heard snapping coming from beside me. I turned my head towards the noise and saw that they lady was snapping her fingers, gesturing for me to come to her. I gave her a look that said _seriously._ She was a complete stranger, did she really think I was about willingly go over to her?

For a moment I was wondering why she would even want to speak with me. After all I was a stranger to her too, but then I remembered that I wasn't the most intimidating person ever. I mean, most adults aren't exactly scared of a blonde teenage girls.

She sighed in defeat and reached her right arm over her shoulder, grabbing the hilt of her sword. I immediately raised my bow and pulled my arrow taught, aiming it straight at her. She raised her left hand and held it out with her palm facing me, telling me to calm down.

The lady pulled her sword out of its sheath and placed it on the eroded concrete, raising her hands up to show she wasn't up to any funny business. She moved it with her foot under the vehicle she was behind and cocked her head to the side, gesturing for me to come over once again.

I nodded my head okay and lowered my bow. I placed it on the ground by my backpack and looked through the dirty window of the car I was behind. The two people from the prison had both of their guns aimed into the entrance of the store. The second they disappeared through the entrance, I made my way over to the woman.

I kept a good two and a half feet between us in case she tried to pull something on me. I kept my right hand by boot so I had easy access to my trusty screw driver. She looked through the dirt covered window of the car we were behind before speaking.

"Do you know them?" she asked me. Her voice was smooth, collected, and slightly raspy. My guess is she hasn't had a drink since the sun came up.

I shook my head no in response, slowly. "It's complicated but no I don't know them per say. I was about to ask you the same question."

"Why would you think I knew them?" she questioned raising an eyebrow in confusion.

I looked through the car window once again to make sure they were still in the store. "The same reason you asked me lady," I answered turning back towards her. "You saw my expression change slightly when she mentioned the Prison, just the way yours did."

She let out a breath. "You're smart kid I'll give you that. Observant too. What's your name anyways?"

"Who's asking?" I replied cheekily, a smirk graced upon my lips.

The woman grinned and looked out of the car window. "My name's Michonne," she stated before looking back at me. "Now will you tell me yours?"

"My name is Imogene but my friends all call me Jean," I said smiling slightly. A sudden gust came through causing dead leaves to scrape across the pavement. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the cool air on my face, my hair blowing wildly behind me.

I reopened my eyes to see Michonne staring at me. "What did you mean earlier when you said it was complicated? You know when I asked if you knew those people from the Prison?"

We stared at each other in silence. "I can trust you right Michonne? Cause I feel like I can and I don't want to regret speaking with you," I stated tilting my head to the side.

"You can trust me Imogene. I'm pretty sure we're on the same side of things. Plus I'm not looking to make any more enemies then I already have," she answered. That I could relate to.

I gave her a grim smile before lifting up the hem of my shirt slightly to show her my stitches, which spanned about 3 inches horizontally above my right hip bone. "I was shot two weeks ago by some dickhead guards at this place called Woodbury," I started but stopped when Michonne's eyes flashed with recognition for a split second. "You're from Woodbury aren't you Michonne?"

She shook her head no quickly. "I stayed there for maybe a week then left cause the Governor is a sociopath. I'm literally being hunted down by this guy named Merle right now. Like I said before Imogene, we're on the same side."

I smiled at her and let go of my shirt, covering up the stitches. "You can call me Jean, we're friends now since we share a common enemy," I declared. "I too, am hated by Merle quite a bit. Anyways, after I got shot I wondered the woods for a while trying to put some distance between me and anyone who might be chasing me. In that process I lost a lot of blood and ended up passing out after I saved this boy from getting eaten by an infected. I woke up in the middle of the night, in the cell of a prison but I left cause I didn't know if I could trust the people there. I'm assuming the people who are in the store right now are from that Prison. I highly doubt there's another one in the near vicinity."

Michonne took a moment to comprehend my anecdote. I broke the silence with one last remark on the subject. "So what I meant when I said it was complicated, was the fact that they know who I am but I don't know who they are."

She opened her mouth to reply but closed it when we heard voices. We perked up and looked through the car window to see the two people from the Prison leaving the store. The man's backpack was significantly bigger than it was before he entered.

"We just hit the powdered formula jackpot," he said excitedly. So they did have a young child at the Prison. That would explain why the woman wanted to get the toy.

"Oh thank god," she agreed smiling.

The man started going through a basket and listing off the things he found. "I also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, many mustards. It's a straight shot back to the Prison from here. Probably make it in time for dinner."

"I like the quiet," the woman admitted. "Back there, back home, you can always hear them outside the fence no matter where you are." They started loading stuff into the car, getting ready to leave.

All seemed well until a familiar voice cut through the air like a machete. "And where is it ya'll good people are calling home?" Michonne and I both stiffened. Merle appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The sound of a gun getting cocked made me hold my breath.

I looked at Michonne who seemed to be fighting an internal battle, most likely the same one I was. Being a teenager, I'm still rather impulsive so my initial reaction was to stand up, get my bow and arrow and kill the guy. All he does is cause trouble and as harsh as it sounds, this world would be a better place without him.

Michonne reacted quickly and grabbed my arm, shaking her head side to side. I grimaced and crouched back down. I knew she was right. If we were to go fight him off and get captured as well, their people would have no way of knowing where they were, and a baby would go hungry. For now, all we could do is watch the scene unfold.

The two people from the Prison raised their guns. "Merle?" The man said in disbelief, walking closer to get a better look. My mouth dropped open I shock. They knew him?

Merle laughed and put his gun on the ground. I noticed that his right arm had another prosthetic hand/ sword. He must've had a spare or had another one made since I have the other in my backpack. "Wow!" Merle breathed out, walking closer to the Prison dwellers.

"Hey back the hell up!" the woman yelled.

Merle had his hands raised in surrender though I didn't buy it. "Okay, okay honey. Jesus."

"You made it," the man said quietly, almost inaudibly. I heard a tone of guilt in his voice. The woman looked over at him for a second then back at Merle. She seemed confused, as if she didn't know who he was.

"Can you tell me, is my brother alive," Merle asked.

What the actual hell was going on here? It was like I walked into one of those dramatic soap operas my mom used to watch when I was a kid. Merle and this man from the Prison obviously had a rough history together which intrigued me greatly.

"Yea," the man answered curtly.

Merle nodded in response smiling creepily. His gray tank top was covered in blood like Michonne's. He was sweating and looked very fatigued. "Hey, you take me to him and I'll call it even on everything that happened in Atlanta. No hard feelings," he gambled.

The man stared at Merles arm. "Oh you like that?" Merle asked grinning. "Yea well this is a new one. I had one made a while ago but this crazy blonde bitch stole it from me and tied me a tree. Anyway, pretty cool huh?"

I covered my mouth to hold in a laugh. "I'm the crazy blonde bitch," I whispered to Michonne, not taking my eyes away from the drama. I could feel her eyes on me for a split second, then she looked away.

"We'll tell Daryl you're here and he'll come out to meet you," the man stated simply.

Merle started shaking his head. "Hold on. Just hold up. Hold up here. Hey, the fact that we found each other is a miracle. Come on now. You can trust me."

I really hoped these people from the Prison weren't stupid enough to believe him and I was pleasantly surprised when the man spoke up. "You trust us. You stay here."

Merle let out a dry laugh. It was dead silent, no one dare move. The tension was almost suffocating and I couldn't look away. The woman readjusted her aim slightly and Merle struck out of nowhere.

He grabbed a gun that he had been hiding and shot the back window of the red van the Prison people came in. The glass shattered and the man and woman ran for cover. Michonne and I crouched lower, sinking ever so slightly closer to the pavement.

We peeked out the dirty car window again to see Merle holding a gun to the woman's head. His sword arm was held against the woman's' neck as they sank to the ground. The man held his gun steady with wide, worried eyes.

"Hey, hey, hold up buddy, hold up," Merle cautioned as the Korean man inched closer.

"Let go of her," he demanded trying to stay calm but I could hear to underlying terror in his voice. When Merle didn't comply he yelled louder, repeating himself. "Let go of her!"

Merle didn't listen. "Put that gun in the car right now. Put that gun in the cars son."

The man lowered his gun in defeat and complied as he didn't have a choice. His face took on a dejected expression as he raised his hands up in surrender. "There you go. Now we're gonna go for a little drive," Merle explained.

"We're not going back to our camp," the man replied shaking his head.

"No we're going somewhere else. Get in the car Glenn! You're driving!" Merle screamed in a deep raspy voice. "Move!" he exclaimed moving the gun closer to the woman's head.

"Don't," Glenn pleaded, his voice cracking slightly. When Merle didn't budge he gave in and started walking around the red van to the driver's side.

"Get up," Merle demanded pulling the woman onto her feet. He forced her into the van and shut the door. Glenn got into the driver's seat and slammed the door in frustration. "That's it," Merle cooed in a sickeningly sweet voice.

The engine struggled for a second to turn on but started rumbling just like new. The gravel crunched under the weight of the car as it pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the road, probably off to the literal hell that is Woodbury.

Michonne and I stood up from behind the car and leaned our backs against the door. I could feel the hot metal through the thin fabric of my shirt though it didn't hurt all that much. We were quiet, thinking to ourselves about what we just witnessed. I couldn't help but feel guilty about not helping though I knew it was for the best in the long run.

"They're not going to get killed right?" I asked Michonne not looking up the ground.

She turned her head towards me. "I'm not going to promise anything to you Jean, but I'm certain that with our help they'll be fine. The Governor just really wants to know more about this mystical Prison he's been hearing about. He won't get that information from them if they're dead," she reassured me.

Hopefully she was right but I wasn't as optimistic as I used to be before the start of the new world. I walked away from her and towards my stuff. I squatted down and put my backpack over my shoulders along with quiver. I gripped my bow in the right hand and placed a stray arrow back in my quiver. I stood back up and faced Michonne to see her standing there with her sword back in its sheath.

We walked out from behind the car and out into the open. I looked around and my gaze fell upon an abandoned red basket, full of supplied where the van used to be. I approached it wearily and squatted down next to it.

It was full of powdered formula, something I'm assuming the child at the Prison will need in order to survive past infancy. I thought back to the note I left the boy at the Prison the night I escaped. _If you or your group is ever in a situation in which you need help and I'm available to assist, I'll have ya'lls back._ It was clear what I needed to do.

I picked up the basket and rested the handle in the crook of my elbow. I turned back around and faced Michonne lifting up the basket slightly, guiding her attention to it. "We should take this to them. You know the people who live at the Prison. This must be important if they grabbed this much of it," I advised.

Michonne nodded her head in agreement. "Hopefully we won't get killed trying to approach the fence. You heard what the lady said. She said no matter where she was she could hear the infected. That must mean that they surround the perimeter."

"They do, surround the whole perimeter I mean. When I broke out of there the night I got shot, I barely escaped with my life," I retold. "To be fair I was really fatigued and recovering from a gunshot so I'm certain that we'll be able to make through the crowds of the infected now that I'm recovered and you're with me," I said with confidence.

"We could cover ourselves in the blood of the infected to mask our scents. I've done it before and it's very effective as long as we stay quiet," Michonne suggested.

I shook my head, not agreeing with her plan though it was a good one. "The first time I ever walked by that Prison, it was overrun by the infected. Those people who live in there must've cleared a majority of the place out in order for it to be semi-inhabitable. If they worked that hard to clear the place out, there's no way that they're going to be willing to let the place go."

"We aren't trying to take the place over Jean," Michonne pointed out.

I sighed. "I know that but they probably won't see it that way. If we cover ourselves in the blood of the infected and try to break through, they'll probably shoot us down. There's no way they don't have someone on guard at all times.

It was silent for a moment. "You have a point. So I guess we fight our way to the fence and hope that whoever's on guard recognizes us as actual humans. Let's hope they, you know, don't kill us on sight," Michonne asserted.

I grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

Michonne swung her arm out parallel to the ground, bowing slightly. "Lead the way Jean."

I guess these stitches would come out another day, I thought to myself as I walked forward and took the lead. "Gladly."


	5. The Liberation Squad

Rick Grimes watched as his son interacted with the blonde stranger who showed up at his Prison with a sword wielding, blood covered woman. He knew that he watching something important though at the time he couldn't pin point why.

Carl Grimes was going through a rough time in his life we he and Imogene Adeney met. What started out as an alliance between people with a common enemy and goal, blossomed into something more. The day they met, a beautiful friendship was born that one day would turn into much, much more.

But that would come quite a ways down road.

* * *

 **Carl Grimes**

My dad's psychotic break seemed to have passed and he was finally able to hold and look at my sister without an apathetic expression. I can understand why he would be having problems bonding my sister because for all we knew she wasn't even his kid. She was also the reason my mom died but we couldn't hold that against her.

Daryl had found Carol in the tombs of the Prison earlier today. From what he told me, she was hiding out in some old supply closet. She wasn't bit or anything serious, however she was weak from dehydration and lack of food.

Things had finally seemed to be looking up for once, and I was a fool to have believed it would stay that way.

I was in one of the cells on the first floor of cell block, helping Daryl with Carol. My dad, Hershel, and Beth were outside with my sister. Glenn and Maggie were on a run so I was the only one available at the moment to help when Daryl came in holding Carol bridle style.

It would've been a pretty romantic scene if you ask me. Daryl rushing in, his long, wavy, brown hair flowing behind him while he carried Carol inside. But the fact that Carol was half dead and covered in blood kinda put a damper on things.

She was laid out on a bed smiling with her eyes closed. Daryl was squatted down next to her bed, talking to her. I felt like I was intruding on an intimate moment but I was asked to be in here.

"Could one of you get me some water?" Carol asked in a raspy voice. Daryl looked towards me and jerked his head sideways, signaling for me to go retrieve some. I mouthed okay and swiftly exited the cell.

It was quiet in the cell block, the only thing to be heard was the hollow muffled sound of my sneakers on the concrete. The sun was streaming through the windows, lighting the cell block up with natural light. I could see the dust floating around in the air from the rays of sunlight.

We had cleaned our living quarters up nicely if you ask me. All the trash that used to litter the floor was now stowed away out of sight. The Prison was starting to turn into a real home, but I couldn't help but wonder how long this place would last until we had to move on. Since the apocalypse started, I've pretty much lived the life of a nomad, never staying in a place longer than a few weeks.

I arrived in the open space that we call a 'kitchen' that had a pantry in the back filled with a decent amount of canned goods, water bottles, and other things. There were circular tables set up around the room with around 8 chairs placed around each.

My feet took me into the pantry from memory so I could grab a bottle of water. They weren't by all means cold, if anything they were more on the hot side of things. I stuck my hand through the hole in the plastic that held them together and grabbed a bottle. After a moment of thought I decided to grab another for myself.

I exited the kitchen and kept Carol's water bottle in my arm pit so I could drink mine. I unscrewed the plastic cap and started drinking mine while I walked back to C Block. I navigated myself through the maze of corridors unconsciously until I reached the room that we dubbed the 'living room'.

And who I saw sitting there shocked me to my very core, so much so that I started coughing up my water in surprise. After a few seconds of coughing uncontrollably, I wiped the excess water around my mouth against my forearm and screwed the lid onto my water bottle.

I dropped Carol and I's water bottles on a nearby table and walked closer to the platinum blonde girl in front of me who was smirking at my reaction. "Imogene?" I asked in complete shock.

She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Hey cowboy, long time no see," she replied. "How ya doing?"

We stood about 3 feet apart, eyeing each other. Her hair was in a loose ponytail that went slightly past her shoulder blades. She was wearing a solid colored olive green shirt with dark wash skinny jeans and brown lace up boots. Her vibrant green eyes were filled with amusement and mischief.

"Wait you guys know each other?" My dad piped up in confusion, breaking our stare down. I turned my head and realized that Hershel, Beth, my sister, and my dad were also in the room along with another woman who stood behind Imogene.

Footsteps echoed throughout the cell block and Daryl appeared in the door way. "Ya'll are gonna want to see this," he said gruffly looking between my dad and Hershel. He looked at me and his eyes widened slightly when his gaze fell upon Imogene. "Well I'll be dammed" he grumbled. "I thought she'd've died."

Imogene snorted. "I don't mean to brag or anything but I have been told I'm pretty kickass," she piped up tilting her head to the side.

My dad shook his head in confusion. "You know her too?" he asked looking at Daryl.

He nodded his head yes. "It's complicated but who the hell is this?" Daryl asked looking at the woman who stood behind Imogene. She was covered and blood and had a blank expression on her face. Imogene turned her head and looked back at her.

"You wanna tell us your name?" my dad asked though it sounded more like a command. When she didn't reply he repeated himself, this time with a quieter voice. "You wanna tell us your name?" It sounded more like a suggestion at this point.

She and my dad were locked in a stare down. The woman's eyes darted back and forth between my dads' eyes, sweat beading along her hairline and forehead. Imogene stayed quiet and leaned her back against the wall, tilting her head up towards the ceiling with her eyes closed.

After a brief moment of silence, it became apparent that she wasn't going to speak. "Ya'll come on in here," Daryl's ruff voice piped up.

My dad turned his attention away from the woman and looked at Daryl. "Everything alright?"

"You're gonna want to see this," Daryl said simply, repeating his earlier statement.

My dad looked at me. "Go ahead. Carl get their bags," he demanded.

My eyes traveled over to Imogene and the woman, trying to apologize with my eyes as I picked their bags off of the floor along with a red basket that sat next to them. I peered inside of it and saw cans of what I recognized to be powdered baby formula. I wondered why they had it in the first place and why they were here.

"We'll keep these safe and sound," my dad said to our guests, holding up a sword which I assumed was the woman's. I had also failed to notice a familiar quiver, bow, and arrow that were now in the possession of my dad's right hand.

"The doors are all locked. You'll be safe in here," he continued as I walked over and stood next to him. "We can take care ya'll."

"We didn't ask for your help," the woman retorted sounded defiant. Imogene looked at her and smacked her lightly on the chest.

"Doesn't matter," my dad answered before turning around and walking out of the room. "We can't let you leave." Hershel and Beth along with my sister followed.

Daryl went over and grabbed the water bottles I had put on the table near the entrance, He picked them up and held them both with one hand while he dug a ring of keys out of his pocket with the other.

I stood by the exit of the room facing Imogene and the woman. "What are you doing back here?" I asked directing my question at Imogene.

"You better have a dam good reason for showing up here girl," Daryl added. He stood next to me twirling his ring of keys around one finger. "We were pretty lenient with you but Rick, that guy you just met, doesn't know you were ever here."

"Yea I picked up on that," Jean stated leaning forward off of the wall. She stood up straight and flipped her ponytail over one shoulder. "And I'm not stupid enough to come here without a good reason. I was hoping things would be more civil but my friend over here seems to be a little shy," she sassed giving the woman a look. "And I'm not a snitch."

The woman merely shrugged her shoulders in response. "Anyways, I will discuss the reason for me being here once your man Rick gets back in here. It doesn't take to genius to figure out that he's kinda your leader."

"More like dictator," I grumbled under my breath. Daryl looked down at me and let out a dry laugh, agreeing with my statement.

"You having some daddy issues Carl," Imogene asked sarcastically dragging out my name. She must've heard what I muttered as well.

My eyes widened in confusion. I remember my name coming up in conversation but never the fact that Rick was my dad. She picked up on my confusion and answered my inner thoughts. "Ya'll have the same blue eyes so I kinda figured."

I waved her off and turned around exiting the room. "Something like that yea I guess."

Daryl followed me out and proceeded to lock the door before returning the keys to his pocket. I looked on the floor by my feet and saw the woman and Imogene's weapons lying on the floor, my dad must have put them there. I bent down slightly and put the bags I was carrying on the ground next to them, keeping the red basket with the baby formula.

I stood back up and watched as Daryl glanced towards our group members who were loitering around the cell that Carol was resting. For a moment I wondered how they found their way there without Daryl's instruction but figured that they probably assumed something was up in the once cell that had an open door downstairs.

"Hey Carl!" Imogene chirped from behind me. I turned my head towards her. "Your jacket is in my backpack if you want it back."

I smiled at her and spoke without really thinking. "You can keep it. It probably looks better on you anyway."

Imogene threw her head back and laughed. "Smooth," she admitted with a sparkle in her green eyes.

With one last glance at Imogene and the woman, Daryl and I started walking towards the rest of our group. "So," Daryl trailed off. "Pretty girl huh?" he teased looking down at me.

I felt heat rise up my neck and into my cheeks. "Shut up," I muttered looking at my feet. He let out a deep chuckle and as we arrived at the back of the crowd that had accumulated outside of the cell Carol was in.

Daryl moved to the front by the cell door and watched as Carol took my sister into her arms. She rocked her back and forth smiling down at her with tears in her eyes. She must've found out what happened to my mom and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw my dad in the cell looking shaken.

"I have the water you asked for," Daryl said to Carol holding out the unopened one. He handed me the one I had been drinking out of while Carol handed my sister back to Beth.

I was starting to get tired of calling my sister 'my sister' in my head or out loud. She's two weeks old and we still haven't gotten around to naming her. I made a mental to note to bring this up to my dad later. Though Daryl called her little ass kicker, I'm pretty sure he would agree with e on the fact that she needs an actual name.

Carol unscrewed the cap of her water bottle and proceeded to drink it. We all watched in contentment as she downed the thing in one go. When she finished her eyes focused on the red basket in my hands. "What's that," she asked in her still slightly raspy voice.

I lifted the basket up and tilted it in her direction so she could see it. "Powdered baby formula," I answered. "It was brought in by-," I trailed off looking at my dad. How was I going to explain this to him? I couldn't call them strangers because a majority of the people in this prison knew one of them, and I don't like lying.

I never had the chance to finish my sentence because my dad started walking out of Carol's cell. "While we're on the topic," he muttered under his breath, stalking towards the 'living room'. Daryl followed him out without a second's hesitation.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the cell block as I rushed after them. Out of reflex I rested my hand on the grip of my gun to make sure it wouldn't fall out of my pocket. I could feel my hat slipping off of my head so my other hand pressed it against my skull. I was the true embodiment of an awkward teenage boy at that moment.

I turned my hips and slipped through the crack between the bared door and doorway and took in the scene in front of me. Imogene seemed to be quiet relaxed compared to her friend who looked like she was ready to pounce at any moment.

My dad stood a few feet away from Imogene and her friend while Daryl stood a little ways behind him. He was holding his crossbow while my dad kept one hand on the grip of his gun. I still stood by the doorway, not wanting to interfere in what my mom would call 'adult business'.

The sound of an uneven gait drew my attention to the doorway. Hershel had entered the room and was hobbling his way over to the left of Daryl. He was probably waiting for the right moment to examine Imogene's gunshot wound.

"We can give ya'll a little food and water then send you on your way," my dad spoke up breaking the tense silence. "But you're gonna have to tell us how you found us and why you were carrying formula."

The woman and my dad had a staring contest before she conceded to speaking. "The supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy and a pretty girl."

I could feel the uneasiness in the room triple. Hershel stood up straighter at the mentioning of his daughter while I drew in a breath. My dad and Daryl shared a look.

"What happened?" my dad asked.

"Where they attacked?" Hershel added sounding concerned.

"They were taken," the woman answered looking a little less flighty.

My dad tilted his head to the side. The sweat on his forehead glistened in the stale sunlight streaming through the dirty windows. "Taken? By who?"

"By the same son of a bitch who tried to kill me," Imogene piped up sounding slightly agitated. Everyone turned their attention towards her.

"Hey, these are our people. You tell us what happened now," he finished in a low voice slamming his hand against a nearby table. The sound echoed throughout the cell block causing me to wince at the high pitched sound.

Daryl raised his crossbow and aimed it at Imogene. "You're about to have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound if you don't start talking girl."

Imogene scoffed. "I'm not scared of you so you might as well put the crossbow down. I know you're not gonna shoot me."

"Oh really? What makes you so sure of that?" my dad asked taking his gun out of its holster.

She smiled at them and crossed her arms. "Because if you shoot me and I die, you'll never find out where Glenn and his woman are. Plus aren't you the slightest bit intrigued to find out why your son and everyone else here knows who I am? And how I know about this place in the first place as well?"

My dad lowered his gun and holstered it before nodding at Daryl. He lowered his crossbow.

The woman stood up while Imogene stepped forward. "Alright Rick, here's the thing. Two weeks ago I was basically kidnapped and taken to this place called Woodbury. It's a town not that far from here and its lead by this man who calls himself the Governor."

"He's a creepy piece of shit," the woman added.

Imogene nodded in agreement. "Anyways, I escaped shortly after and this morning I went to a Pharmacy at this strip mall so I could get some supplies, that's where I met Michonne here. She's too is an enemy of the people from Woodbury."

Finally we know this woman's name. Michonne. It fit her well, it sounds like a name for a tough woman which she seemed to be.

"While we were there, one of the Governor's lackey's kidnapped your boy Glenn and who I'm guessing is his girlfriend. We're pretty sure he took them back to Woodbury," Michonne cut in helping tell the story.

"A whole town?" Daryl grumbled is disbelief. "Full of survivors?"

Imogene looked at Michonne and nodded her head for her to continue. "Yes a whole town. It has about 75 survivors I reckon. The Governor himself isn't that scary. He's all talk, but he's created an army of men who will follow his every wish. His morals are a little astray from what I've seen and his paramilitary army is a force to reckon with."

"They have armed sentries along a wall that surrounds the town," Imogene cut in.

My eyes cut over to her. "Is there a way in?" Everyone turned their heads and looked at me as if they forgot I was here.

"The place is secure from walkers but we could slip through. I too am a force to be reckoned with," Imogene replied with a smirk, resting her hands on her hips.

I smiled slightly and looked at my feet. I could feel the heat rising into my cheeks. In my peripheral vision I could see Daryl roll his eyes at me and shake his head in amusement. Dad merely stared at me in confusion as to why I was reacting this way. To be fair I was confused also. Why was I getting so flustered?

"How'd you know to come here?" my dad asked looking at Michonne.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Glenn and the girl mentioned a prison and said it was a straight shot."

My dad looked at Imogene. "Now do you wanna tell me how everyone here knows you?"

"When I escaped Woodbury I was shot near my hip. I kept running so I could put some distance between me and the guards and in the process I lost a lot of blood," Imogene started lifting up the hem of her shirt, showing her stitches. They were neat and spanned about 3 inches along her right hip bone, no longer covered with a bandage.

She put down the hem of her shirt and continued looking over at me. "I'm not one to snitch but your boy Carl here was out in the woods alone and took me back here when I passed out from blood loss after saving his life."

"You didn't _save_ my life, I was doing just fine on my own. I can handle myself," I cut in defensively. She was making me sound incompetent.

Imogene snorted. "Sure cowboy."

"It's not even a cowboy hat," I grumbled reaching a hand up to readjust it.

She gave me a smug grin before continuing. "Anyway I woke up the next morning handcuffed to a bed with a bullet no longer lodged in my side. I was stitched up nicely and must've gotten a blood transfusion or something cause I felt a hell of a lot better than I did before. I got out of the handcuffs and escaped before anyone woke up."

My dad turned towards me and gave me a stern glare. "We'll talk about this later." I nodded my head sheepishly.

"Carl did the right thing bringing her here Rick. I was on guard duty that night and when Carl came running in she was half dead," Daryl inputted. "She wouldn't have survived the night out there without any medical attention."

"I understand that but do you know what kind of risk he put us all at bringing a stranger into our home? Sure this one turned out to be a decent person from what I can tell, but what if she wasn't? She could've killed us all of in our sleep," dad ranted gesturing his hands widely. He was directing his words towards Daryl with a fearsome glint in his eyes.

I knew he was just trying to protect us and do what's best for our group, but for the first time in quite a while I didn't agree with him. I started to feel guilty for saving Imogene even though I knew I shouldn't. I did the right thing bringing her here even though it was risky. So I decided to speak up.

"What if that was me out there? What if I was dying alone in the woods and someone decided not to help me because it was too much of a risk?" I asked rhetorically directing my words towards my father.

Everyone's heads snapped towards me and my heart started beating faster. My dad tilted his head to side and gave a look, daring me to continue. I took a deep breath and went on. "I understand why it's risky to bring in strangers and I understand that you just want to keep us safe dad. But if we keep going on like this, we're gonna turn into the type of people we despise."

"I know that I took a risk bringing Imogene here but I'm not going to apologize for it. And I don't think anyone else who was here that night is going to apologize for saving a young girls life either. She's someone's child or sibling or best friend, and everyone is. Every person alive has at least one person who cares about their wellbeing. Even though the worlds gone to crap to say the least, we don't need to lose our humanity on our trek to survival. That's the only thing keeping us from being just like the walkers."

It was silent for a moment after I concluded my speech. The people around me possessed a surprised expression, and I don't blame them. No one ever talked back to dad especially me, after he went a little awry after my mom's death.

He opened his mouth to speak and I prepared for the worst. "This is Hershel," he said dryly, gesturing one hand towards the one legged man. "He'll take care of that for you." He was directing his words at Imogene and pointed towards the area her stitches were. He took one last look at all of us and proceeded towards the exit, Daryl followed.

"Could you get me some tweezers and a pair of scissors Carl? Or just something sharp?" I nodded my head and turned around on my heel, on hand pressing my hat down onto my skull. I started walking towards the cell we kept Imogene in the night she arrived. The container of medical supplies Beth brought to Hershel was still there. We haven't moved it since and figured it would be easier to have it closer in case of emergencies.

The adults and Beth were speaking near the foot of the stair case when I exited the 'living room'. Carol was sitting on the steps holding my sister while they hashed it out, obviously debating their next course of action.

"How do you know we can trust them?" a voice I recognized as Oscar asked. My vision of him was obscured by the people surrounding him.

"This is Maggie and Glenn. Why are we even debating?" Beth questioned rhetorically.

I slipped into the cell with the medical supplies and kept my ears sharp as I dug around silently in the bin of medical supplies. Gauze, thread, needle.

"We ain't. I'll go after 'em," Daryl stated more than offered. Flashlight, batteries, Advil.

"Well this place sounds pretty secure. You can't go alone," my dad said in a rough voice. Medical tape, ah tweezers, Neosporin.

"I'll go," Beth offered.

"Me too," Oscar parroted.

Band-Aids, cotton swabs, finally scissors. I stood up, supplies in tow, and exited the cell swiftly as not to disturb the elders. I didn't want to anger my dad any further than I already had with my outburst earlier.

It was quiet for a second before another voice piped up. "I'm in."

I couldn't hear anything they said after that because I was out of ear shot. I reentered the room with Hershel, Michonne, and Imogene. Michonne stood of to the side while looking antisocial while Imogene was laying down on a table. Hershel stood by her side having a conversation.

As I approached them they stopped talking and looked at me. I handed Hershel the scissors and tweezer then took a step back.

"Thank you son," he addressed me with his southern manners. "Now Imogene dear, all I'm going to do is cut each stitch then pull it through to remove it. It shouldn't hurt at all besides a slight pinch."

She nodded her head slightly and lifted the hem of her shirt up. Hershel went to work while I stood by keeping an eye on things. My hand twitched by the handle of my gun while my gaze went back and forth between Michonne and Imogene. I was almost certain that Imogene wasn't going to pull anything stupid but her friend I wasn't so sure about.

"Do you usually stand up to your dad like that?' Imogene spoke out suddenly. She was looking up at ceiling seeming impervious to what Hershel was doing. "I mean I'm not judging you or anything lord knows I was a sassy child growing up. You just don't look like that kind of kid." She turned her head and looked at me expecting an answer.

I shifted my weight from heel to toe, pondering my answer. "I'm not that kind of kid," I admitted shrugging my shoulders. I felt the sudden need to vent out everything that's been going on lately but I held it in. "It's just, a lot's been happening lately and I'm not gonna bore you with the details, but I don't know some of my frustrations just…" I trailed off not knowing how to finish.

"I get it, believe me cowboy. Things haven't been going well for me lately too but you could probably already tell that," she replied with a smile. Her fingers were laced together on top of her chest and her feet were together at the foot of the table she was laying on. She seemed to be completely at ease.

"Yea well you gave everyone here quite a scare. Everyone was so thrilled to be woken up at like 1 am to me carrying a half dead girl."

"I never thanked you for helping me. You know in person."

"It wasn't a problem really."

"Maybe to you but you're dad sure doesn't seem to think so."

"Yea well he has his reasons. He'll come around eventually."

She nodded her head and looked away from me. She lifted her head up and looked at Hershel. "Thank you."

He looked away from his task when he realized she was no longer talking to me. He smiled at her. "It's my pleasure," he replied before going back to work. It was quiet for about a minute until he finished. "Well that's it Imogene you're as good as new. Just don't go and do anything crazy for a while."

Imogene sat up on the table and turned so her feet were hanging off the side. "I can't promise that but I'll try, and you can call me Jean if you want. All my friends do, or you know used to," she said.

I thought back to what she had said right before she passed out that night in the woods. _My name is Imogene Adeney but you can call me anytime_. I almost laughed at the absurdity of the pickup line she used. I wondered if she even remembered she said it in the first place.

"Hey Jean?" I asked trying to get her attention. She was next to Michonne now and they were mumbling to each other quietly. She turned around acknowledging me. "Do you remember what you said to me before you passed out when we first met?"

She shook her head. "No, why?" she inquired looking curious and a little confused.

I let out a laugh and smiled deviously. "No reason. Don't do anything crazy while we're gone." And with that, Hershel and I left the room.

Hours later I stepped outside into the sunlight following the stream of people who were leaving for Woodbury. As my eyes adjusted to the light I listened to the faint sound of groaning walkers pressing up against the fence that surrounds the Prison.

Daryl opened the trunk of Maggie SUV and placed a bag inside. "I got flash bangs and I got tear gas. You never know what you're gonna need." He swung his jacket around his torso and slipped his arms through the sleeves.

I walked up to the SUV with a backpack in tow. I wasn't allowed to go to Woodbury because my dad didn't want me to go, though I wasn't expecting him too. I placed the backpack in the trunk next to the bag Daryl put in.

"Hey," he grumbled, grabbing my attention. "Hey, don't worry about you're old-man. I'm gonna keep an eye on him." He gave me a pat on the back and walked off.

"You're not going?" a voice a said from beside me. I turned my head and saw Imogene standing there looking ready to kick some ass. She had her quiver over her shoulder, filled with bows, and her bow held by her side.

I nodded my head. "My dad doesn't want me too," I said simply.

"I guess there's one good thing about having two dead parents," she started as she shut the trunk to Maggie's SUV. "There's no one to hold me back," she stated before walking off.

"Well that's one way to look at it," I grumbled under my breath as I started walking off.

My dad stepped out of the Prison holding a black bag and handed it to Oscar. He turned back around but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. "Carl," he called out. He grabbed my arm gently and lead me off to the side.

We stood alone in a shaded area under an overpass. I looked up at him waiting for him to speak. "What you did for mom-,"

"I had to," I interrupted him, not liking where this conversation was going. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself as I could feel my eyes start to water.

"I know, I know and I'm sorry," my dad apologized quietly. "No one should have to go through that."

I nodded my head simply and look down at the ground for a second, composing myself. I looked back up at my dad. "How long will you be gone?"

He shook his head and leaned down closer to me. "Look if something happens while we're gone-."

"We'll be alright," I interrupted him again.

"If anything happens, you get everyone locked in the cells, keep them all safe."

"I will," I assured him.

"I know," he whispered in response. "I know you will."

It was quiet for a moment while my dad gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Take care of your sister all right?"

I nodded my head. My dad stood up straight and started walking off. "Daryl's been calling her little ass-kicker."

He turned back around and looked down at me in confusion. "Ass-kicker?" he repeated with a dry laugh. "Has he now?"

I leaned my elbow against a nearby wall. "I've been thinking what should we really call her?"

Dad walked closer to me with a slight smile and leaned against the wall next to me. "Well what do you think?"

"Remember my third grade teacher, Mrs. Mueller?"

"Of course."

"Her first name was Judith. Do you think that's a good name?"

"I think that's a fine name. Judith it is."

We both smiled at each other before walking back to the group. He kept one shoulder on my back guiding me along with him. I stood off to the side while everyone said their goodbyes. I felt a presence next to me and turned my head to see Imogene. Her hair looked white in the afternoon sun with her ponytail blowing behind her like a flag.

"Bring them back," I heard Hershel say to my dad. He gave a curt nod and sat down in the driver's seat of the pale green SUV.

"Try not to get shot again will ya?" I said to Imogene.

She smiled at me and started walking towards the SUV. "No promises cowboy," she replied without a glance.

The doors to the SUV slammed shut as the liberation squad started their trek to Woodbury. While the vehicle drove off, Hershel, Beth, Carol holding Judith and I stood in a line equal distance apart and watched as a faint brown dust blew up behind them.


	6. That Makes Five

Life moves on but memories don't. Good or bad, they stick with you and at the end of line they're all you have left.

The good memories played over and over in Imogene Adeney's head like a movie. The bad one's served as a lesson for her future self. Sometimes the most important life lessons are the ones you have to learn the hard way.

* * *

 **Imogene Adeney**

 _"_ _If one more fucking mosquito bites me I swear to god I'm going to flip some shit," Devyn burst out in frustration. She slapped herself on her arm and started scratching her legs ferociously. A red mark in the shape of a hand started to appear on her arm._

 _I sighed and turned my attention back on the road. "Devyn I told you that organic mosquito repellant wasn't going to work! The ingredients are all thing you can cook with you need something with some harsh ass chemicals."_

 _"_ _Well I know that now," she grumbled, now scratching her arms with less venom._

 _The weather was miserable though it was expected in Texas during August. The humidity was unbearable, so much so that our sweat wouldn't evaporate because the air was so saturated with water. Our hair was slicked back with sweat and the heat was sapping our energy straight out of us. The fact that we had walked about 180 miles at this point hadn't helped._

 _Though the weather sucked, the scenery of rural Texas was beautiful. Overcast skies stretched far beyond I could see like a vast gray blanket. Bright green foliage lined the back country roads Devyn and I were walking along. The birds chirping from the trees and the cicadas constant signing created a tranquil background noise that kept my heart rate down despite the level of activity I was partaking in._

 _My legs burned in protest at every step, though I was starting to become indifferent to it. My feet ached especially because I was still wearing my cheer shoes and they weren't supportive at all. They were built light as to not weigh you down while tumbling or jumping. Not great for walking great distances._

 _I tapped Devyn on the shoulder when I heard the sound of crunching leaves, accompanied by a familiar groaning. She was carrying both of our duffel bags because of a bet we made earlier, which she lost. Devyn opened the smaller right pocket in my bag and took out a screwdriver that I had been using as a weapon._

 _An infected person emerged out of the dense plant life lining the empty, weathered road we were striding along. Its' gait was uneven while its' face was a sickly gray color that contrasted greatly with the dark veins that ran underneath its' skin. There was a stain on the infected persons' ankle that looked like blood, explaining its' uneven gait. I came to the conclusion that this person was bit which caused them to turn._

 _"_ _How did you end up all the way out here," I wondered out loud as I approached it, screwdriver in hand. We'd been walking along this road for hours and have yet to see another person, dead or alive._

 _I got close enough to the infected so I could go through my tried and true method of death. Grab the neck, kick the groin so it bends down, stab upwards into the eye, pull out, and push away. Works every time guaranteed._

 _As I walked back towards Devyn she looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. "Do you know what I want most in the world right now Jean?" she asked not looking at me._

 _I got back in line next to her and put my screwdriver back in my duffel bag before zipping it back up. "No I don't. What?"_

 _"_ _A car Jean. I want a car," she whined, turning her head to look at me. The gravel crunched under our feet as we started walking again._

 _"_ _If you can find us a car Devyn then by all means we'll use it but I don't see that happening. This is yee yee country. No one actually lives out here besides crazy old white men who have confederate flags on the back of their pick-up trucks," I dismissed waving my hand nonchalantly. "If they caught us trying to steal their truck we'd get shot in the blink of an eye."_

 _We ceased speaking for a while until Devyn punched me in the shoulder out of what I guessed was excitement. "Jean look! That's John Michael's house! I recognize it from that house party he threw my sophomore year."_

 _To the right of us was a turn of the century farm house, surrounded by acres of open land populated by cows, grass, and cotton. Leading up to it was a long dirt driveway that cut through the foliage like a wild fire. The best part though, was on it there stood a forest green soft top Jeep._

 _I turned my head away from the house and looked at Devyn, smiling at her in mischief. "Isn't he on vacation in Hawaii until the week after Labor Day?"_

 _She nodded her head in enthusiasm with a huge grin. "I just found us a car." And on that note, we picked up our pace and changed course to the John Michael's driveway._

 _We approached the vehicle in caution, not knowing what to expect. Devyn handed me my screwdriver and I stood ready to fight as she yanked the driver's side door open. When nothing jumped out at us, she reached over the seat and into the glove compartment. She dug around blindly for keys until she stood up straight and handed me the keys triumphantly._

 _I stared at the keys in confusion before looking up at Devyn. "Devyn I'm 14, I can't drive us I don't have a license."_

 _She rolled her eyes. "First of all I highly doubt there are cops out on the road who are going to pull you over while the literal zombie apocalypse is starting right before our eyes. Secondly, it's a stick shift and I can only drive manuals. You can drive a standard right?"_

 _Sighing in defeat, I nodded my head yes, electing a thought so hum from Devyn. All those years mowing my grandparent's pastures finally paid off. I popped the trunk so Devyn could put away our bags. When I heard the trunk slam shut I pressed my foot on the brake and turned the keys, bringing the engine to life._

 _Devyn hopped in the passenger seat and shut her door. She looked over at me and saw my hesitant expression. "Jean you'll be fine. You have a natural talent for everything this'll be no different."_

 _I pressed the gas and we started down the drive way. Clouds of dust obscured my vision in the rear view mirror. "I know it's just I pictured my first time driving a car going a little different."_

 _It was harsh slap from reality, realizing that my parents would never teach me to drive. The atmosphere of the Jeep turned somber as we realized what had happened only days prior, the death of our parents. I started thinking about how I was going to tell my young, happy, and innocent brothers what life is going to be like now._

 _I turned back onto the main road, speed up to 75 and switched into 6_ _th_ _gear. Within the half hour we were passing our high school and turning into my small neighborhood of ten houses. My grip on the steering wheel tightened, causing my knuckles to turn white as I pulled into the driveway of my house._

 _I put the Jeep in park, popped the trunk, and turned off the ignition. Devyn and I slammed our doors shut and went around to the back to grab our stuff. I locked the car and dug around in my bag, looking for my house keys._

 _Taking a deep breath, I turned the key in the front door until I heard a click. Retracting the key, I twisted the knob and put my weight against it, entering my home. The maple wood floor creaked under Devyn and I's weight and the whole house smelled like the outside. The windows must've been open, I wondered how long electricity had been gone._

 _I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and I turned my head to see my two younger brothers walking towards me. I smiled, dropped my duffel bag, let out a laugh, and held out my arms for a hug. I couldn't ever remember being this happy to see them. Nate, who was 8 ran to me and hugged me tightly around the waist while Brent who was 12 begrudgingly gave me a side hug._

 _We stood there for a moment enjoying each other's company until they both pulled away and stood in front of me. Nate was basically a boy version of me with platinum blonde hair, freckles, and green eyes while Brent and I looked nothing alike. He had dark brown hair and eyes with smooth, evenly toned tan skin. Often I wondered if he was adopted._

 _"_ _Ya'll look terrible," Brent said looking between Devyn and me._

 _Nate nodded his head in agreement. "Yea it looks like ya'll haven't showered in two weeks."_

 _I rolled my eyes. "That's because we haven't idiots. You should be thankful we got here alive it's crazy as hell out there. The city's a mad house and all the roads in and out are blocked."_

 _"_ _Really? We lost electricity a few days ago so we have no clue what's going on outside. We stayed here like you told us but Jean, what the hell is happening? Is all this talk about a zombie virus true?" Brent asked._

 _Devyn and I looked at each other and nodded our heads solemnly. "It sucks that ya'll hate horror movies cause now you're living in one," I responded._

 _That's when Nate asked the question I had been dreading. "Wait you said the roads in and out of the city are blocked. How are mom and dad gonna get home?"_

 _I stared at my feet for a moment then looked back up at my brothers who were waiting expectantly. "They're not coming home," I whispered, letting out a deep breath._

 _"_ _What do you mean?" Brent asked wanting clarification, a look of confusion in his eyes. I merely stared at him trying to communicate telepathically. His eyes widened. "Oh."_

 _Nate looked up at Brent then at me, his eyes started to water. I held out my arms and he surged forward. He hugged me tightly, sobs racking his small 5 foot frame. A lone tear fell down Brent's cheek while I stood there holding my youngest brother, still as a statue._

 _I was in charge now so I needed to stay strong. For my brothers, because no one else could._

I opened my eyes and watched as tree after tree flew past my window. I sat up straight and rubbed my eyes trying to rub away my weariness. It was probably a bad idea to take a nap right before going into a stealth mission but I hadn't meant to fall asleep. Something about car rides always lulled me to asleep when I wasn't the one driving.

My body was pushed against the left door of the SUV because the guy with a cross bow and the buff, bald black man were in the back row of seats with me. Rick was driving while Michonne sat in the passenger seat giving him directions because I had no clue how to get there. I was passed out when I was taken there and half dead as I was leaving.

I lurched forward slightly when the car started to slow down. Rick pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the ignition. The car was tilted to side at about a 30 degree angle because the right side was in the ditch. Country roads don't usually have shoulder lanes.

"They have patrols. We're better off on foot," Michonne said as she stepped out of the car. Everyone including me exited one by one, slamming their doors shut. The man with the cross bow and the buff dude went around to the trunk to retrieve the bags they brought with them.

I held a hand up perpendicular to my face to shield my eyes from the sun. It was setting which put its' rays at an angle, straight into my eyes. My other hand readjusted its' grip on my bow while I shifted my quiver diagonally across my shoulder blades.

"How far? Nights coming," He asked looking up at the sky.

"It's a mile, maybe two," Michonne answered. The sound of the trunk slamming shut was our queue to continue with our journey. We all started walking at a decently fast pace into the woods.

Michonne lead while the buff guy stood behind her and slightly to the right. Rick and the crossbow man stood next to each other behind him while I took up the back. I kept my bow pointed at the ground with an arrow notched and ready to shoot at any sign of danger.

Dead leaved crunched under our feet as we weaved in, out, and between trees. The sun was still in my face but my eyes had begun to adjust. I wondered why no one else was effected but then realized I was the shortest one in the group. That didn't surprise me though as I was only 15 while these adults were probably in their late 20's early 30's.

"I know what you did for me, for my baby while I was- working things out Daryl," Rick spoke out suddenly, taking a glance at the crossbow man who I just learned is named Daryl. "Thank you."

I slowed my pace to give myself a little distance from them, not wanted to interrupt. So the baby Glenn and the woman where getting food for was Rick's kid, Carl's sister. I saw a woman with short gray hair holding her when we were leaving but she looked nothing like Carl. That couldn't be his mom right?

"It's what we do," Daryl said simply in his country accent.

I smiled to myself, Daryl's voice reminded me of home He had the same accent of almost everyone I knew growing up in Texas. He seemed to be nice, this group of people did. They cared for each other and took care of one another. I've been on my own for so long now I had forgotten what that was like.

The sound of undead groaning shook me, and everyone else of their reverie. A group of them stumbled into the clearing we had been walking through. "Down," Rick quietly demanded.

We all squatted down and watched as they got closer and closer. My grip on my bow tightened as I got ready to shoot. I steadied my breathing and shook my head side to side getting stray hairs out of my face.

"Get in formation. No gunfire." Rick instructed.

The group of us all stood up at once and surged forward. Rick slashed with his knife and Daryl shot his crossbow. The other man whose name I still did not know hit infected after infected in the head with his axe. Blood was spattering everywhere, getting all over my somewhat clean clothes and skin. One of the reason I loved my bow was that it killed stuff from far away, so I never got dirty.

I brought my bow up and aimed an arrow at an infected head before releasing it. I kept doing this until I had used about half of my arrow supply. My feet brought me forward quickly as I started retrieving my arrows from the heads of the dead undead. The hand I wasn't using grabbed my screwdriver from my boot as stabbed the ones who were getting to close to me.

Next thing I knew, we were completely surrounded. "There's too many of 'em," Daryl announced walking backwards holding his knife up.

Rick kept stabbing them one by one and ended up back to back with Daryl and the other guy fighting them off. Michonne was somewhat near them slashing the infected with her katana while I was separated from them by an advancing line of the undead which I couldn't run around.

I slipped my bow over my shoulder, put my screwdriver in my back pocket, and started running straight towards the infected. I jumped up about 3 feet in front of them with all of the strength I could muster and vaulted over them. My hands grabbed the shoulders of one and I pushed off propelling myself forward.

My knees bent on impact to cushion my landing and I took off running in the opposite direction. I took out my screwdriver and stabbed my way through the miniature herd of undead until I ended up with the rest of the group.

"This way," Rick said in between labored breathes. He started walking at a fast pace to who knows where, but there was no other choice but to follow him.

The moaning and groaning of the undead followed us through the forest, not deterred by the uneven terrain. We picked up our pace until we were running a dead sprint. My arms pumped back and forth by my side while my feet pounded against the hard forest floor.

"Through there, c'mon," Rick guided us.

We continued to follow him and out of nowhere emerged a rusty old cabin with a clean wooden porch leading up to it. There was a boat to the side but no car or truck. The wooden front door was tall, going up vertically about 11 feet. There were few windows and they all lined the side walls, going up as high as the front door.

We ran up the steps while Rick opened the door with a loud creak. Daryl held up his knife and started walking around the building.

"Ge the door," Rick grumbled squatting down. "Keep it down, keep it down." The door slammed shut behind us and the place went dark. Rick got a flashlight out of a bag he was carrying and moved it around the near vicinity.

I let out a sigh relief and immediately regretted it when I breathed back in. "That smell, it's horrid," I groaned covering my nose with my elbow.

Rick and Daryl started walking around, scoping the place out. It was cluttered, little trinkets of no importance lined the shelves and countertops. The windows were covered with floral sheets, blocking most the sunlight.

"What the hell is that?" the guy I don't know the name of asked.

Daryl and I walked closer to it and got a good look. "It's gotta be a fox or somethin," we answered in unison. We turned our heads and looked at each other in confusion, then went back to examining the carcass. "Or what's left of one," I added standing up straight.

Rick shined his flashlight over it. "Looks like Lassie went home," Daryl mumbled.

A sudden pounding at the door drew our attention away from the dead animal. We all reached for our weapons and watched as the grimy hands of the infected clawed at the front door of the building.

Rick whistled quietly and nodded his towards something on the floor. At closer inspection, I realized it was a mattress covered with an old quilt, and something seemed to be under it. Daryl moved forward holding up his knife, ready to pounce. I put away my screw driver and grabbed my bow. I notched an arrow and raised it, aiming it at the bed.

Rick yanked the blanket away from the bed and up sat a middle aged man holding a gun. I walked closer and adjusted my aim to his torso while Rick and Daryl backed up.

"Ah! How the hell are you?" the man asked in surprise and confusion. He had a gray beard and mustache accompanied with a grey knit beanie. He was wearing a flannel shirt which made him look like a real wannabe teenager.

"Look we don't mean no harm," Rick said holding a hand up in caution.

"Get out of my house!" the man all but yelled sitting up straighter.

Rick and everyone else continued to back up while I stayed put with my bow. "We will we will but we can't right now," Rick negotiated.

"Now!" the man screamed pointing at the door. The groaning outside got louder as more of the infected gathered along the wall, drawn to the ruckus inside.

"Shut him up!" Michonne whisper yelled.

"Get out right now!" the man repeated. The groaning outside only got louder.

Rick kept trying to negotiate with him. "There are walkers outside!" Walkers. I guess that's what they called the infected, had a nice ring to it.

The man finally seemed to realize what we were saying because he went quiet. His eyes scanned the shadows of the walkers who were clawing his windows. We all stood there and watched as he stood up off of his bed.

"I'll call the cops!" he yelled. I groaned quietly in frustration, letting go of my steely demeanor. This guy was a nut case.

"I am a cop," Rick revealed in a low voice. "Now I need you to lower your gun." He said kneeling down slowly. "Don't do anything rash. Everything's fine okay let's just take this nice and slow. Look at me."

All seemed to be going well until the guy cocked his gun, ready to shoot. "Show me your badge."

"Oh for fucks sake," I grumbled, fed up with the little dance Rick was doing with this mentally unstable man.

Still holding my bow and arrow, I did a 360 spin for momentum then kicked the guy straight in the jaw. He dropped to the ground and let go of his gun. I kicked it away from him and put a foot on his chest, pointing my arrow down at his head. "Shut the hell up!" I demanded giving him my fiercest glare.

"Get off of me you bitch!" he screamed at me. The groaning outside was getting so loud that I couldn't hear myself think.

"I'm giving you one more chance to shut your mouth."

"Like hell you will-" he started but never finished because my fingers released an arrow straight into his head. His body went completely limp and his head lolled over to one side.

I reached down and pulled the arrow out of his skull then stepped away from him. Blood started pooling out of his head, close to my feet, so I took a few more steps away and let out a breathe I didn't know I was holding. That made 5.

Daryl was the first to look away from me and go towards the entrance to look through the cracks in the wall. "Remember the Alamo" he said as he peered through.

Rick, Michonne, the other guy, and I walked over to look through as well. "As a born and raised Texan yes I do," I admitted peering through a crack. It became clear that we couldn't go out that way without getting killed. We needed a plan and fast.

Suddenly the door opened from the weight of the walkers pressing against it. Rick quickly grabbed the handle and pressed all his weight against, trying to keep it closed. His shoes squeaked against the wood flooring as he kept adjusting them for traction.

"Help me with this door," he groaned out. Michonne went over to him and kept it shut while he backed away.

Rick went over the man I had just killed and started dragging him towards the door. Daryl helped by grabbing his feet, speeding the process along.

"You've gotta be kidding me," the buff guy said in disbelief when he realized what they were doing.

"He's dead Oscar now check the back." Rick instructed.

Oscar nodded hesitantly and went to the back door. He cracked it open and peered outside before turning around to look at us. "Clear."

I notched my bloody arrow and pointed it at the door when Rick started counting down. He and Daryl were holding up the dead body and from what I could tell they were about to throw it outside. "One, two three."

Michonne yanked the door open then backed away. Rick and Daryl pushed the dead man outside, onto the porch. The walkers collapsed near the body and started to tear apart his flesh, diverting their attention away from us. Daryl shut the door and I heard the reassuring sound of a lock being clicked.

Without a second glance we all bolted for the back door, trying to be as discreet as possible. Michonne lead us followed by Rick, Daryl, Oscar, and then me. We sprinted around to the front of the house and back into the woods to get back where we were before all the walkers came.

I couldn't look away at the sight of them tearing apart that man's body. They looked like rabid animals, so much so that it was hard for me to believe that those things were ever people. They all had jobs, kids, and hobbies. All of that was stripped away from them by a virus. Humanity was a fragile thing.

When we finally arrived at Woodbury, it was dark outside. The sun had long disappeared over the horizon along with the comforting sounds of chirping birds and the thin layer of sweat that had precipitated against my forehead.

The temperature had dropped, making me regret my decision to leave Carl's jacket, well my jacket, at the Prison along with the rest of my stuff. I didn't want to take my backpack with me because it would weigh me down and if things went south I didn't want to worry about it.

The sound of crickets really set the tone for the ominous setting we were in. The wall the surrounded Woodbury stood as tall as ever with the silhouette of a man strolling casually on top of it with a gun in hand. There was another man controlling a spotlight that was tinted orange. He moved the light around the clearing and road that lead up the main entrance.

We were all squatted behind an old car surveying the area around us. The spotlight swept across the ground showing dead walkers scattered along the perimeter. The sound of crickets chirping droned out almost every other noise but when I closed my eyes and listened closely, I could hear the sound of people conversing coming from inside the walls.

"Hey," Oscar whispered suddenly. "Hey!" he repeated a bit more forcefully this time. I whipped my head around to see Michonne crouched down walking off.

"Damn it," Rick muttered as he watched her wonder off. I debated for about a millisecond, wondering if I should go after her but I thought against it. Someone needed to help these people around this town and Michonne didn't seem to want too.

"Alright, we need to downsize," Rick said adjusting his weapons arrangement. Everyone else followed suit while I merely watched, glad I packed light.

Daryl stood up slightly, peering over the car. "Ain't no way we'll be able to check all them buildings. Not with all them guards there."

I was about to speak up when a twig snapped from behind us. We all whipped around, weapons raised towards the noise. The sound of guns being cocked echoed throughout the tranquil night. I held my breath waiting for something to pop out of the thicket and kill me, the Michonne appeared. She held a finger to her lips telling us to be quite then gestured for us to follow her.

"Alright let's go," Rick whispered. Michonne lead us around back where there wasn't any clear entrance. Somehow we ended up crawling through some narrow tunnel that brought us into what looked like very large storage closet.

One by one we all crawled out of the tunnel and peered around the room. There were shelves along the walls with mason jars filled with various things and some with none. The door to the tunnel we came through creaked as Michonne shut it behind us.

I reached to my back pocket and patted it, feeling for my screw driver. It was still there. I pulled my shirt down to cover it up and reached behind my shoulder to grab an arrow. I notched it in my bow and aimed it at the ground in front of me as walked, keeping some tension in the string.

Rick pushed through a curtain into another section of the building. "This is where you were held?" he asked quietly looking at Michonne.

"I was questioned," was her reply.

It became clear they weren't here the more we looked around the room. "Any idea where else they could be?" Rick asked.

When she didn't say anything I spoke. "I know where they could be. I was held underground in a room inside of a basement. I'd recognize the building if I saw it."

He nodded in response. Daryl walked to the other end of the room and peered through another curtain. "I thought you said there was a curfew," he said confused. He turned around and looked at Michonne while Rick and I walked up to see what we was talking about.

People were walking in the streets, talking to one another without a car in the world. They had clean clothes, hair, skin, and looked well fed. Even though I'd been here before and seen the exact same thing, it still made be uneasy.

"The street is packed during the day. Those are stragglers." Michonne clarified.

I continued to watch outside and became keenly aware of the fact that the only thing separating us from them was a piece of fabric. "If anyone comes in here we're sitting ducks," I said backing away from the curtain. I didn't want to sound bossy but it needed to be said. "We gotta move."

"They could be in his apartment," Michonne theorized.

Daryl turned away from the curtain and stalked towards her. "Yea? And what if they ain't?" he asked in a menacing tone.

"Then we'll look somewhere else," she replied calmly.

"You said you could help us," Rick spoke in a low tone.

"Hey!" I whisper yelled, trying to get their attention. "She's doing what she can as well as I am. Alright? Lay off."

"Then where the hell are they?" Oscar asked in a rough voice. I had almost forgotten he was here.

It was quiet for a moment until Rick gestured for Oscar and Daryl to come over to him. They gathered in a circle and started whispering to one another. Not that quietly might I add.

"If all this goes south, we're cutting them loose," Rick said.

"You think they're leading us into a trap?" Oscar asked.

"Right now it's the blind leading the blind," Daryl grumbled. "Let's split up."

Michonne didn't show any sign of being able to hear what they were saying, she simply kept peering through the curtain that lead outside. I wasn't completely shocked by what they were saying, I mean we were strangers to them and they had no reason to trust us. But if they didn't want my help or Michonne's help, that was on them.

I did however think splitting up wasn't that great of an idea. Just when I was about to say something to them, a knock rang out. We went dead silent and looked over towards the door. The sound of keys jingling shook me out of my surprise and I started looking around for somewhere to hide.

"I know you're here. I saw you moving from outside," the stranger said. His footsteps echoed throughout the room as he started walking around. "Alright now. You're not supposed to be in here and you know it." His footsteps got closer.

When I couldn't find a place to hide on the floor, I decided to go up. I frantically shoved my arrow back in my quiver and put my bow over my shoulder. I sprinted towards a section of wooden wall that didn't have a shelf pressed against it and jumped onto it with one foot. I pushed off against that leg and shot away from the wall upwards and grabbed a beam that went horizontally along the ceiling. Using my momentum, I wrapped my legs around the beam and hugged it with all my strength, hanging from it like a sloth on a tree branch.

I looked down and saw Daryl and Oscar giving me a 'what the fuck' look from there place under a windowsill that jutted out of the wall. I shrugged my shoulders at them and kept my eyes where the strangers' footsteps were coming from.

He came out from behind a doorway and started walking in between the shelves. I couldn't make out any facial features because shadows covered almost every inch of it. "Who's in here?" he asked looking around.

The man was almost directly under me, I held my breath. That's when Rick leaped out from behind a curtain and tried to take the man down. "Shut up and get on your knees," Rick ordered holding up his gun. "Hands behind your back. Zip tie him."

Daryl got out of his spot and went over. I could hear the sound of what I guessed were a pair of zip ties. "Where are our people?" Rick demanded shaking the gun in his face.

The man started shaking his head back and forth frantically. "I don't know," he replied sounding confused.

"You are holding some of our people. Where the hell are they?" Rick demanded raising his voice with every word.

"I don't know," the man repeated, his voice shaky with desperation.

I unhooked my legs from the beam I was hanging from and swung down onto the floor. I shook out my wrists and walked closer to the man we were holding 'hostage', trying to get a good look at him. He was obviously very nervous, his hairline was covered in beads of sweat. His pupils were wide conveying shock but it might've been because we were in a dark room.

Rick and the man ceased speaking for a moment. "Open your mouth," Rick stated. He lifted up and old rag covered in who knows what. The man groaned in protest as Rick shoved it into his mouth, I didn't blame him.

Then Daryl hit the man in back of his head with the butt of his gun. The man grunted and fell over onto the dusty wood floor. He didn't pass out surprisingly but he seemed pretty out of it.

Oscar and Michonne appeared from the hiding places and came over to see what all of the commotion was about. They took a look at the passed out man and stayed silent.

"Move him," Rick stated to no one in particular. "And stay away from the windows." He and Daryl walked off talking quietly to one another. Michonne and Oscar stood next to each other in uneasiness, not really trusting the other.

That left me. I grabbed the man's ankles and dragged him across the floor into a shadowed corner. He didn't struggle in the slightest as I moved him around roughly, trying to prop him up. I finally sat him up, stood up, and then watched as his head lolled over to the side. I recognized the signs of a concussion as I had two in the past from my gymnastics and cheerleading days.

I squatted back down and slapped him lightly on the face, trying to get him lucid for a moment. His eyes shot open and looked at me but they weren't, _looking_ looking. I felt a pang of sympathy for him, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had nothing to do with his psychotic leader's terrible life choices.

"Hey, I know you really want to conk out right now but I'm pretty sure you have a concussion. You need to stay awake," I whispered. He nodded his head closed his eyes, not registering what I was saying. I stood up and wiped my hands on my jeans. "Well if you want too, you can go to sleep but you'll probably never wake up."

That's when gun shots rang out. I grabbed my bow off my shoulder and an arrow, notched it, and proceed towards the noise. Rick, Daryl, Oscar, and Michonne were all in a circle talking about what to do. I walked up to them and spoke. "Follow me."


End file.
